REFUSING entry to migrants with chronic conditions and potentially terminal illnesses is ‘common sense’, UKIP’s Winsford candidate has claimed.

UKIP candidate for Eddisbury, Rob Millington, made the comments after Nigel Farage claimed 60 per cent of the 7,000 people diagnosed with HIV every year in the UK were born abroad.

Mr Millington defended the UKIP leader's comments, and reiterated the party's intention to implement a points-based immigration system.

Mr Millington said: “The simple truth about it is Australia, Canada and a lot of countries such as that, those countries that have an effective immigration policy, will not allow people with those chronic conditions and with those potentially terminal illnesses into their country because of what it will cost.

“You might think that’s not very nice, people might think that’s a bit unfair, I think it’s common sense to a large extent.”

He added: “Nigel made a comment about foreigners having free HIV treatment in this country, but no it’s not UKIP policy to not allow people in that are sick.”

Plaid Cyrmu leader Leanne Wood accused Mr Farage of ‘scaremongering’ during the televised election debate earlier this month.

Answering a question about the NHS, Mr Farage said: "You can come into Britain from anywhere in the world and get diagnosed with HIV and get the retro-viral drugs that cost up to £25,000 per year per patient.

"I know there are some horrible things happening in many parts of the world, but what we need to do is put the NHS there for British people and families, who in many cases have paid into the system for decades."

In agreement with his party leader, Mr Millington said the ‘NHS should be a national health service, not an international health service’.

“Should Nigel have said that or should he not?” he said. “Again, he states the cold, hard facts, and my understanding was that that he had his sources from official government sources.

“The amount of money spent and the amount of people who actually get that treatment coming from abroad.

“However tragic and however appalling it is that people have debilitating illnesses such as that, the NHS should be a national health service, it’s not an international health service.”