Boris Johnson: Don't fear Farage, he's 'one of us'

London Mayor tells Ken Clarke to 'calm down' and says Tories should be 'comforted' by UKIP's rise

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BORIS JOHNSON has rubbished the veteran Tory MP Ken Clarke for "freaking out" over the threat posed by UKIP and their leader Nigel Farage, who are threatening to eat deep into the Conservatives' core vote in Thursday's local elections.

Clarke repeated the withering verdict of David Cameron in 2006 that UKIP was packed with "fruitcakes and closet racists".

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is the pseudonym for a London-based political consultant who writes exclusively for The Week.co.uk.