A decision to award the Nobel peace prize to the European Union has been
heavily criticised by UKIP leader Nigel Farage.

Mr Farage, who lives in Kent, said the decision brought the prize into disrepute and far from leading to peace, the EU was divisive and leading
to more violence.

The Nobel prize committee said the EU had helped to transform Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace.

But Mr Farage heaped scorn on the news.

He said: "You only have to open your eyes to see the increasing violence and division within the EU which is caused by the Euro project.

"Spain is on the verge of a bail out, with senior military figures warning that the Army may have to intervene in Catalonia.

"In Greece, people are starving and abandoning their children through desperate poverty and never a week goes by that we don't see riots and protests in capital cities against the troika and the economic prison they have
imposed.

"The awarding of this prize to the EU brings it into disrepute."

Reacting to the award, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "It is a great honour for the whole of the EU, all 500 million citizens, to be awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace prize."

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