TO boost his self-importance, and no doubt for a fee, Nigel Farage went stateside to address a gathering of fellow right-wing political activists.

On the basis that you can judge someone by the company they keep, it follows that the Ukip leader rubbed shoulders with lunatics who favour scrapping gun laws, racists, bigots and pro-creationists who want to peddle their nonsense in schools.

Farage met with members of the ludicrously named Tea Party and one of their leaders, the relentlessly vacuous Sarah Palin. They were well suited: the rocks in his head would fill the holes in hers.

D Barker, Fern Close, Huntington, York.