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Senior MEPs today mocked Ukip leader Nigel Farage upon his return to the European Parliament, reminding him he had broken his "very important promise" to resign.

Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt, who leads the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) group at Strasbourg, welcomed Mr Farage by calling him "a man of his word".

"Nigel Farage has sent a letter to Nigel Farage saying, 'I resign,' and Nigel Farage has responded to Nigel Farage saying, 'I refuse'," he joked.

"That's the way it works there."

The Daily Mail reports German MEP Manfred Weber - leader of the dominant European People's Party - told the chamber: "I would like to welcome Mr Farage, the loser of the elections."

He added: "The British voters didn’t vote for him and I have to say that Mr Farage has lost credibility because he announced that if the British voters didn’t vote for him, then he would stand down as party leader.

"You didn’t keep your electoral promise, Mr Farage. You are still here in your capacity as party leader and you've broken a very important promise that you made in your election campaign. So welcome back."

Ukip polled 12.7 per cent of the popular vote on May 7 but won just a single seat in Parliament. Nigel Farage failed to get elected in South Thanet.

He told The Telegraph in March he would quit if he lost the poll - but after stepping down on May 8 he returned to the top spot three days later, his chairman and national executive committee having rejected his resignation.

"We've jumped over some amazing hurdles," he said in March. "But this hurdle is the biggest one.

"I'm standing as the Ukip candidate in South Thanet. If I win, I continue as leader of the party. If I lose, they'll be looking for somebody else."

The party's economics spokesman Patrick O’Flynn quit after calling his reinstated leader "snarling, thin-skinned and aggressive".

Policy director Suzanne Evans also stepped down after denying she had been involved in a plot to undermine him.

Following the resignations Mr Farage said his party was "100 per cent united".