Ukip leader Paul Nuttall is to run for the Stoke Central seat that will be left vacant by the resignation of Tristram Hunt, it was claimed today

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall is to run for the Stoke Central seat that will be left vacant by the resignation of Tristram Hunt, it was claimed today.

Labour MP Tristram Hunt shocked Westminster last week by announcing he would quit the Commons to run the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Mr Nuttall has so far refused to rule out contesting the seat, in which Ukip finished second at the general election in 2015.

ITV reported today the party leader - elected in November to replace Nigel Farage - had decided to fight for the place in Parliament when the by-election is held.

Party sources did not deny the claim but insisted candidates had until 5pm to throw their hat into the ring ahead of the official selection on Saturday.

Challenged on BBC Radio 4 Today programme about the by-election yesterday, Mr Nuttall said: 'You'll have to invite me back in a couple of days.'

No date has yet been set for the Stoke by-election, which is expected to be a hotly contested battle over Brexit on a patch where nearly seven in ten voters backed Britain leaving the EU.

Mr Hunt remains the MP today because he has not yet completed the arcane process necessary to disqualify him from the Commons.

Labour sources have suggested the party will move for an early date for the by-election, suggesting the poll could come in early March.

Labour MP Tristram Hunt shocked Westminster last week by announcing he would quit the Commons to run the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The campaign is another headache for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who already faced a by-election battle in Copeland following the resignation of another of his MPs.

In his resignation letter Mr Hunt wrote that there were 'very few jobs' which would have convinced him to stand down. He added: 'The post of director of the V&A – the world's greatest museum of art, design and performance – is just that.'

Moving to the museum, in South Kensington, is likely to mean a significant pay rise from his current salary of £74,962.

His predecessor, Martin Roth, was paid a salary of around £150,000 as part of a total package worth up to £230,000.