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Ukip leader Diane James resigns after 18 days in charge | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Ukip leader Diane James has resigned after just over two weeks in charge of the party, senior sources have said. | |
The shock twist in the Ukip story comes just 18 days after Ms James took the helm following a leadership contest. | |
Her departure has led to immediate speculation that Nigel Farage could come back to be Ukip leader for the third time in his political career. | |
Ukip's only MP Douglas Carswell tweeted: “In the middle of supper. Not taking calls about UKIP stuff. It's shepherds pie, by the way.” | |
MEP Ms James was frontrunner in the leadership contest, which saw her declared winner on September 16 after taking 8,451 votes, some 46.2 per cent. | |
During the leadership battle she promised to focus on Brexit negotiations but consistently refused to set out any policies, insisting she did not want to make it "on the hoof". | |
She saw off a challenge from local politician Lisa Duffy, after other contenders Steven Woolfe and Suzanne Evans were ruled out. | |
More to follow... |