'Sorry if I've offended anybody in Bongo Bongo Land. I shall write to the ambassador at the Court of St. James and apologize to him personally," said Ukip's Godfrey Bloom this week after being filmed using the same language in a speech to supporters.
It was the kind of maverick response that supporters of the party are used to - and unthinkable from a politician of any other party serious about governing. So is Ukip anything more than its caricature of a protest party for men of a certain age?
According to opinion polls - especially those which ask specifically about Ukip - the party's popularity has spiked this year. Indeed, a stronger than expected showing at the local elections was enough to give many in the Conservative party cause for concern. But is Ukip's popularity starting to peak? Are its members simply too hard to control? And does it have any chance of getting even a single MP into the house of Commons.
Nicholas Watt hears from Ukip leader Nigel Farage in this exclusive interview (recorded before this week's leaked footage emerged).
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