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Ukip Chairman Paul Oakden has resigned from his role, as the party's abject meltdown approaches critical mass.

In an email to party members, Oakden said his last act as Chairman will be to chair Saturday's extraordinary meeting, when leader Henry Bolton faces being ousted in a vote of no confidence.

It was his second email to members today. In the first he assured members there had not been a "coup" at the top of the party, after an email was sent round over the weekend referring to him as "interim leader."

Oakden has seen Ukip go through five party leaders since he has been Chairman.

(Image: Richard Stonehouse)

In his statement, he wrote: "Being the Chairman of UKIP is an honour and a privilege.

"It doesn’t come with champagne lunches, a whopping salary or great esteem. What it does bring are thousands of emails and letters, occasional angry members whom it’s just not possible to pacify.

"Chairing the board, acting as a diplomat between the NEC and a Leader (or five) and generally being the person whose fate it is to disappoint almost everybody.

“That’s the base line, and it expands from there – still, I’m the lucky one for having had the opportunity to do it. One Of the more unenviable tasks is to chair national EGMs, as the one that is taking place this Saturday in Birmingham. Chairing this EGM, however, will be my last act as UKIP Party Chairman.

“At the end of January, I voluntarily terminated the contract that l have with UKIP, bringing my formal employment with the party to an end. This was entirely of my own volition. Earlier today I wrote to the Party Leader and the NEC to notify them of my decision to stand down once the EGM has concluded.”

In 2016, it was revealed that Mr Oakden had pretended to be a professional pilot on a dating website.