Ukip will kick out only MP claims former leader Nigel Farage

Ukip will kick its only MP out of the party following years of infighting, according to Nigel Farage.

The Eurosceptic party has been plunged into fresh chaos after its former leader called for Douglas Carswell to be ousted for trying to damage it.

Leader Paul Nuttall has now asked chairman Paul Oakden to meet the Clacton MP for talks on Tuesday.

Mr Farage, who has been engaged in a long-running feud with Mr Carswell, said the party had come close to expelling the MP before.

Speaking after a Brexit event in central London, he said: “It’s not just me. A lot of people have been saying it and saying it for a very long time.

“We nearly got rid of him back in 2015 when he sabotaged all my efforts at the European summit. We didn’t quite have the nerve to do it. I suspect now the party will.”

Asked if Mr Carswell would be gone by the end of the day, Mr Farage replied: “I’m not involved. It’s up to them. I’m retired.”

Mr Farage said he tried to kick the MP out when he was leader but he did not have a majority on the party’s ruling NEC.

Major Ukip donor Arron Banks has suggested he is ready to stand against Mr Carswell in the 2020 general election.

But Mr Farage said the comments should not be taken “too seriously”. He joked the in-fighting in Ukip was now “so bad, we could almost be the Labour party”. The MEP, who insisted he was “not back-seat driving”, said Mr Carswell had admitted “his job was to neutralise Ukip”.

Mr Farage accused the MP of being a “posh boy” who did not want to discuss immigration during the referendum.

He stepped up his attacks on Mr Carswell as the row intensified over claims that he played a role in blocking a knighthood for the former leader.

Leaked emails show Mr Carswell joked that Mr Farage should be given an OBE “for services to headline writers”.

Mr Farage insisted the exchanges revealed Mr Carswell is “consumed with jealousy and a desire to hurt me” and called on Mr Nuttall to kick the MP out.

The Clacton MP, who defected from Conservatives in 2014, responded with a cheeky late-night tweet saying “Knight night”, prompting Mr Banks to declare his election challenge.

Mr Carswell said the emails showed “quite clearly I tried my best to make sure he got an honour that reflects his contribution”.

He told the Press Association: “If he wants to come and talk to the Ukip Parliamentary Party about it, we are happy to put it on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

“I’m delighted where I am. I’m trying to double the size of the Ukip Parliamentary Party at the moment. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to do that in Stoke.

“But if he wants to come and talk to the Ukip Parliamentary Party about any concerns he has, very happy to respond. It won’t take long, it’s just me.”