By Darren McCaffrey, Sky Politics Reporter, in Clacton
UKIP's Douglas Carswell has again refused to be drawn into the row over Nigel Farage's controversial comments about HIV treatment.
When asked repeatedly by Sky News while out campaigning with the UKIP leader in Clacton if he backed the policy, Mr Carswell refused to answer the question directly or use the term HIV.
He said: "I think it's perfectly reasonable to say that our National Health Service should be a national health service and not an international one."
Asked why he would not mention HIV, he added: "I think I've made myself absolutely crystal clear.
"If you come to this country, and you haven't contributed to this country, I think it's perfectly reasonable for us to say that our health care system should be a national health care system and not an international one."
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At the leaders' debate, Mr Farage claimed 7,000 people are diagnosed as HIV positive in the UK every year - and 60% of them are foreign nationals.
He said: "You can come into Britain, from anywhere in the world, get diagnosed with HIV and get the retro-viral drugs which cost up to £25,000 per year, per patient."
Mr Carswell, who defected from the Conservatives last August and was re-elected in Clacton standing for UKIP, is the son of a prominent HIV researcher.
His father Dr Wilson Carswell was the first person to diagnose Aids in Ugandan patients and carried out influential work on the illness.
Mr Farage's controversial comments prompted an angry backlash, including from Leanne Wood, the leader of Plaid Cymru, who attacked Mr Farage for "dangerous scaremongering".
Labour leader Ed Miliband tweeted he "should be ashamed".
Mr Farage told Sky News there was no disagreement between the two, and added: "We've got people in their 80s being told they can't have drugs for breast cancer and prostate cancer because we can't afford it.
"One of the reasons we can't afford it is health tourism, which is costing up to £2bn every single year. And nobody else wants to acknowledge it.
"What was really interesting was the attitude of the political class, and much of the media class, to what I said. The outrage and the horror. Out in the country, it's got big majority support."
Latest figures by Public Health England show 6,000 people were diagnosed with HIV in the UK in 2013, and 54% of them were foreign nationals - although the country of origin was not known for about a sixth of patients.
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