Lance Forman, owner of the famous family smoked salmon business, has been elected as one of London’s two MEPs for Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party.

In his acceptance address, he said: “What surprised me most on the campaign trail was how many people who voted Remain said they would be supporting the Brexit Party”.

They told him they just wanted to get on with leaving the European Union “even it meant no-deal.”

Shortly after his candidacy was announced, a 30-foot swastika was daubed on his smoked salmon factory.  “But if you put the warm messages of love and support I received from across the political spectrum against that one act of hatred, the scales would topple over in an instant,” he said in his speech.

The Brexit Party, set up only a few weeks ago, won 29 of the UK’s 73 seats in the European Parliament, pushing Labour into third place behind the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives into fifth behind the Greens.

It also wiped out UKIP, which topped the poll in the last Euro-election five years ago.