Nigel Farage confused over Ukip's sex education policy during Leaders Live event

Farage argued against his party's commitment to scrap sex education for children younger than 11

Ukip's sex education policy has come under scrutiny after Nigel Farage made a series of comments contradicting existing party policy during a live debate.

During a Leaders Live event broadcast on Youtube and ITV, Mr Farage told an audience of young people that he supports sex and relationship education for children younger than 11.

He argued against the policy of Ukip deputy leader and education spokesman Paul Nuttall that sex education should be scrapped for under 11s.

Farage said: "I've never advocated that policy. If somebody in Ukip in the past did, well, so be it, but I think that people need to have a rounded education and sex education is part of that."

When it was pointed out that Nuttall's policy is written on Ukip's website, Farage said: "I know there was a debate about sex education for four-year-olds, and whether that was appropriate but I don't think the age 11 was ever mentioned."

On the party's website, the policy reads: "Scrap sex and relationship education for children under the age of 11."

Farage later admitted that Nuttall had laid out the policy at this autumn's party conference.

He tweeted: "Sorry, I missed the beginning of Mr Nuttall's conference speech. He did indeed lay out policy on sex education".

At the conference, Nuttall had said: "Ukip is committed to the scrapping of sex and relationship education for children under the age of 11".

This incident represents yet another policy on which Farage and his party have said different things, several of which are sex-related policies.

Ukip's stance on gay marriage, for instance, remains unclear after Farage evaded questions on the subject throughout the spring, instead calling it a "can of worms" so long as the UK remains in the EU.

Farage backed Roger Helmer, the party's candidate at the Newark by-election earlier this year, who said in 2012 that if gay marriage were made legal: "Are we to authorise incest?".

David Coburn, the party's only gay MEP, in October called supporters of gay marriage "equality Nazis".

And just last week, Farage was forced to disown comments from the party's former deputy Lord Monckton for claiming some gay people have "20,000 sexual partners" in "their miserable lives".

There's also the question of same-sex couple adoption, which former Ukip candidate Winston McKenzie reportedly described is "unhealthy" - to the dismay of the party's leadership.

Ukip rejected McKenzie's characterisation, and said it supports equal rights for gay couples.

Other confused Ukip policies include Mark Reckless' proposed forced deportation of existing EU migrants, and the "handbag tax" supported by the party's economy spokesman.