A campaign group is threatening to sue Nigel Farage over comments made in the wake of the Berlin terror attack.
The ex-Ukip leader sparked a furious backlash after he appeared to accuse the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox of endorsing extremism and criticised campaign group Hope Not Hate.
Widower Brendan Cox had hit out at Mr Farage for suggesting on Twitter that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to blame for Monday’s horrific lorry attack.
Hope Not Hate, which says it aims to counter racism and fascism, has asked the MEP to apologise for suggesting its supporters “masquerade as being lovely and peaceful but actually pursue violent and very undemocratic means" or face legal action.
Mr Farage made the controversial comments on radio station LBC came after Brendan Cox criticised his tweet.
In a statement, Hope Not Hate said: "We are aware of a serious and potentially libellous statement made about Hope Not Hate by Nigel Farage on LBC radio this morning.
"We have no idea on what Mr Farage bases his outrageous comments. Hope Not Hate has a proud history of campaigning against extremism and hatred.
"We will not be making any further comment until we have had the opportunity to consult with our lawyers."
Early on Tuesday Mr Farage, who stood down as Ukip leader in November, had tweeted: "Terrible news from Berlin but no surprise. Events like these will be the Merkel legacy."
The comment prompted hundreds of retweets and replies, including from Mr Cox, whose Labour MP wife was shot and stabbed to death by neo-Nazi Thomas Mair in her Batley and Spen constituency days before June's EU referendum .
Mr Cox replied to the tweet by telling the politician that "blaming politicians for the actions of extremists" was a "slippery slope".
Later, in an radio interview, Mr Farage responded by saying: "Well, of course, he would know more about extremists than me, Mr Cox, he backs organisations like Hope Not Hate, who masquerade as being lovely and peaceful but actually pursue violent and very undemocratic means.
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"I'm sorry Mr Cox, it is time people started to take responsibility for what's happened. Mrs Merkel had directly caused a whole number of social and terrorist problems in Germany, it's about time we confronted that truth."
