KERRY Smith has claimed he was the victim of a witch-hunt against the working class.

Speaking on LBC’s Ian Dale show, the former Ukip candidate justfied his racist and homophobic comments, saying: “I am not politically-correct, but I am not extreme to anyone.

“Some people told me, ‘don’t go Kerry – you tell it how it is’, but I protected Ukip by resigning my membership.

“They were just turns of phrase.

Where I come from, people don’t speak with a plum in their mouth.

“It was a private conversation and you can’t hear what the other person was saying. I’d had a tough old day and what’s done is done. The person who leaked the tape has done unforgivable acts.”

Mr Smith added the words which got him into trouble were not terms he would use in day-to-day conversation.

Earlier, commenting on his former party leader’s defence of him, Mr Smith said: “Mr Farage could have come out very critical, so that is something.”