Nigel Farage continues to receive the chauffeur allowance and since last spring, Ukip has been paying for bodyguards

Ukip is “very, very short of money” and has failed to build up a war chest for the general election yet has still granted Nigel Farage a £60,000 annual chauffeur allowance, The Times can reveal.

Stuart Wheeler, the spread-betting millionaire who has bankrolled the party for years and who served as treasurer until July this year, said Ukip “desperately needs more money”.

Ukip had only £600,000 in the bank at the start of 2014, according to its accounts, and needs several million pounds to fight a successful nationwide general election campaign. Having broken into the political mainstream with the recent by-election wins, it plans to contest every constituency but will focus efforts on 40 target seats.

Although it has secured a number of sizeable donations