Posterboy of UKIP campaign is actually an Irishman

The UK Independence Party has rejected as “nonsense” Tory criticism of the party using an Irish actor in a poster about the impact of immigration on British jobs.

The poster, published last week as the Eurosceptic party launched its campaign ahead of elections on May 22, features a builder begging on the street next to the slogans “EU policy at work” and “British workers are hit hard by unlimited cheap labour”.

But it has emerged the man featured on the poster is Irish actor Dave O’Rourke, prompting Conservative MP Bob Neill to criticise the party.