Ukip has "moved on" from being a party of "fruitcakes", Nigel Farage has said, after David Cameron urged voters not to be tempted to vote for the eurosceptic party in May.
The prime minister famously once branded Ukip a party of "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists". In an attempt to squeeze the Ukip vote, Cameron yesterday urged people tempted to vote for Farage to "come home" to the Tories in May.
Filmed eating a cupcake during a campaign visit today, Farage was asked by Sky News' Darren McCaffrey: "It's note a fruitcake?" Farage replied: "We've moved on. It's a different party now. This is new Ukip.
Farage rejected Cameron's message to Ukip voters, insisting his backers had found a "new, more authentic home" after deserting both the Conservatives and Labour.
Cameron made his remarks following a campaign speech in Bristol, when asked what he would say to former Tory voters now planning to back the eurosceptic party in May.
The prime minister said: "I would say to those people that I totally understand the frustration people have felt about issues like immigration where they want more done, and we will do more. And I understand the frustration about Europe - where the country deserves a referendum - and with me as Prime Minister they'll get that referendum.
"But this election is not a time to send a message or make a protest. This election is about choosing the government of our country for the next five years, and the choice could not be starker between a Conservative government led by me, continuing with a plan that's working, and putting it all at risk."
Cameron said he had heard protests "loud and clear" but insisted the key choice for voters had to be between him and Ed Miliband.