Protesters squared up to a controversial UKIP EU election candidate during his visit to Weymouth.

Prospective MEP for the South West of England, Carl Benjamin, visited yesterday as part of a tour.

He was met by a group of protesters from Stand Up to Racism in Dorset, who gathered at the Jubilee Clock, where he was due to speak.

Mr Benjamin has faced a backlash about rape comments he made on Twitter, aimed at MP Jess Phillips. They are being investigated by the police.

Lynne Hubbard, who organised the protest, said: “He’s a very provocative character, many people will be aware of the comments he made about Jess Phillips.

“People in Dorset don’t want to live in a divided society. Dorset has issues of poverty that need to be addressed by people coming together.

“We are standing together today in peaceful protest but also to get people to think about how they want to vote in the EU elections."

Phillip Marfleet, another campaigner, said he was disgusted by the comments made about Jess Phillips by Mr Benjamin.

He added: “We are here to make it clear that he is not welcome in Weymouth and we want him to go away.

“People are facing real issues in South Dorset. Child poverty in Weymouth and Portland is higher than almost anywhere else in the south west. These are real issues that we need to be concerned about.”

When Mr Benjamin arrived, he was greeted by supporters, before clashing with some of the protesters.

Police officers stood by monitoring the situation.

During his confrontation with protesters, Mr Benjamin said: “We shouldn’t be having MEP elections; we should have left the European Union. I think this is a core democratic principle that we honour a referendum. When parliament gives sovereignty back to the people in the form of a referendum, I think that’s important and that it has to be honoured.”

He added: “I am here so we can go give the European Union a piece of our mind and the government itself, it’s unacceptable we have to run MEP elections. We voted three years ago to leave. How is it that I can now stand to become an MEP? It’s wrong.”

A protester read to Mr Benjamin the comments he made about Jess Phillips MP.

She read: “There’s been an awful lot of talk about whether I would or wouldn’t rape Jess Phillips. I’ve been in a lot of trouble for my hardline stance of not even raping her. I suppose with enough pressure I might cave. But let’s be honest, nobody’s got that much beer.”

Mr Benjamin responded, saying: “Is that not obviously a joke? What’s the context in which I said that? Is it not acceptable for people to make jokes? So, when Jimmy Carr or Ricky Gervais or Robert Webb make a similar joke, is it acceptable when they do it?”

A protester replied: “They’re not standing for an elected position which you are trying to.”

Debate on NHS and immigration

Mr Benjamin then held a Q and A with residents about his political views on a range of topics.

He spoke with Weymouth resident and NHS worker Joshua Hill-Walsh about the impact of mass immigration on the health service.

Mr Benjamin said: "I want to keep the NHS, but the reason I am against mass immigration is because it will ultimately damage our NHS. I'm not saying we should have no immigration, I'm not against skilled immigration, I think if they come over and get the experience they need then return to help their own countries, that's a fantastic idea."

Mr Hill-Walsh responded: "All I can say is that the NHS is the greatest achievement of socialism in this country and we should be proud that we have doctors who come from all over the world to work for us and they look after our children and our elderly, without them the NHS would be on its knees."

Mr Benjamin added: "Sure but if we had less mass immigration then the NHS wouldn't be struggling so much, but not only that I believe they have an obligation to help the people in their own countries as well."

Mr Hill-Walsh responded: "Many of them do, they gain the skills and help our communities and our people then they go back to their own countries. But if they want to stay here they're entitled to do so. If they work in our NHS, they pay their taxes and they look after our elderly, vulnerable, sick and our needy, then I don't have any problems with them staying indefinately."

Mr Benjamin said: "I agree, service guarantees citizenship."