Nigel Farage has condemned the violence in Northern Ireland while suggesting the riots stem from deeper integration issues within migrant communities.
Speaking on GB News, Nigel described the scenes as "ugly" with "houses being torched, people actually putting in their windows what their identity is."
The violence began on Monday evening in Ballymena's Harryville area, where 2,500 people gathered following the court appearance of two 14-year-old boys charged with attempted sexual assault.
Over four consecutive nights, rioters threw petrol bombs, masonry, bricks, fireworks and even a hatchet at police officers. Seventeen officers were injured during the unrest.
Nigel Farage said that he feared a "deeper problem"
GB NEWS
Multiple properties were set ablaze, including homes on Bridge Street and Queen Street.
Windows were smashed across the town, prompting some residents to display signs reading "British household" or "Filipino lives here" in attempts to avoid attacks.
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The violence spread to Larne on Wednesday night, where masked vandals attacked and torched the leisure centre being used as emergency accommodation for families fleeing Ballymena.
Speaking on GB News, Nigel explained: "I just wonder whether it is not a deeper, broader problem we saw something of after Southport last year.
“You know what? If they’d listened to me, none of this would have happened.
"I said, ‘Be careful. Get immigration numbers substantially lower. Don't allow people who come illegally to stay.
WATCH: Dougie Beattie reports on unrest in Ballymena
"Make sure those that come are the type of people that will integrate in our communities.
“When the police basically say, ‘you’re all far right thugs’, that misunderstands what’s going on.
“Now you know what has happened here is these two 14-year-old boys have had charges red to them in court. This is not economic, this is cultural.
“We can discuss the 10 million population increase, we can discuss all that stuff, and yet the public are focused on the channel because they think there's an inherent unfairness in people coming in right about going into four star hotels, getting free dental care, etc.
Over three consecutive nights, rioters threw petrol bombs, masonry, bricks, fireworks and even a hatchet at police officers
PA
“This is now a political problem for Labour on a huge scale. He's got no chance of smashing the gangs.
“I think if you don't speak the same language, if you have a different way of living: I mean litter, untidiness, a different way of living.
“I've been to the biggest Roma settlement in Bulgaria and the biggest Roma settlement in Romania. There is a different way of life.
"And equally we could go to other cultures where women are treated differently. The fundamental problem of lack of integration is cultural.”
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