Britain's anti-EU party buys advert to deny racism before Europe vote

By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's UK Independence Party (UKIP) on Monday took out an advert in a national newspaper to assert it was not racist as rival politicians and the media united to condemn its characterization of Romanian immigrants. Most opinion polls show UKIP is on course to come first or second in elections to the European Parliament on Thursday, pushing Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron's party into a humiliating third place just a year before a national election. The party, which wants Britain to leave the European Union and stricter border controls, has ridden a wave of dissatisfaction about what many Britons perceive to be excessive immigration levels to surge in the opinion polls. However, comments about Romanian immigrants by Nigel Farage, UKIP's leader, have drawn unusually fierce protests from across the political spectrum, a backlash that some commentators and rivals think could mark a turning point in the party's fortunes. Read More http://ift.tt/1p694yw