Ukip’s parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn revealed he is a natural Liberal Democrat during a sell-out general election hustings organised by the Ham&High last night.

Magnus Nielsen told an audience of more than 250 people at the JW3 community centre, in Finchley Road, that he would be a Lib Dem member if the party pledged to leave the EU.

Mr Nielsen’s revelation may raise eyebrows among Lib Dems members in the constituency in light of his recent comments about Islam.

Last week, footage emerged of Mr Nielsen declaring that Britain was “at war with Islam” and in February he told the Ham&High that his “great aim” was to “licence the mosques”.

The Ukip candidate spoke about his Lib Dem tendencies in answer to a question submitted by a reader following the Ham&High’s live online coverage of the hustings, who asked: “If you could choose one policy of another party’s to include in your own party’s manifesto, what would it be?”

Candidates at the hustings, chaired by Ham&High editor-in-chief Geoff Martin and organised in partnership with the London Jewish Forum, fielded questions from the audience and questions submitted online.

The parliamentary candidates took questions on a range of issues, including the future of the NHS, the economy, London’s housing shortage and Britain’s membership of the EU.

But the most heated debate was initiated by an audience member who asked candidates if they would support a “cultural boycott of Israel”.

None of the candidates supported the notion of a cultural boycott but Green Party candidate Dr Rebecca Johnson was heckled by several audience members for endorsing a boycott of Israeli goods produced in occupied territories.