A UKIP MEP has described the anti-immigration march planned for Wisbech town centre in May as “provocative” and asked party members to stay away from it.

Stuart Agnew, the UK Independence Party MEP for the East of England, has moved to distance his party from the protest.

Mr Agnew MEP said: “The anti-immigration march that I understand is being planned for May this year, in Wisbech, is nothing to do with UKIP and my party is not involved in planning or promoting it in any official capacity.

“We are totally opposed to this and the previous governments’ open door policies on immigration, which are simply unsustainable but our opposition is based upon reasoned argument.

“We do not support confrontational or provocative events that might do more harm than good.

“We will be encouraging our members to stay away from the Wisbech march.”