15:07

The chair of campaign group Leave Means Leave has been axed as a Brexit party MEP over disloyalty, party officials have claimed.

John Longworth, who publicly differed on general election strategy with Nigel Farage, has had the whip removed and will no longer represent the party in Brussels.

Unease between Longworth and his party is understood to have stemmed from his insistence early in the election that the party operate a smaller campaign and not target Tory seats. Others wanted to contest 600-plus constituencies.

The Brexit party’s chief whip and MEP, Brian Monteith, said:

We regret having to remove the whip, but we have been left with no alternative after John Longworth repeatedly undermined the party’s Brexit strategy over the last few months. The Brexit party shall not be deflected from, or undermined in, its campaign to win Labour seats. We are receiving a great reception from disenchanted Labour voters and have believe we have a good chance of winning in many seats.

Longworth spoke openly about how his then party should focus on 20 to 30 seats in Labour areas at the very start of the campaign. A few days later Farage announced it was standing down in 317 Tory-held seats, which in some areas has disappointed candidates and party supporters. Its campaign is now focused on Labour heartland areas in northern England, the Midlands and Wales and it is running 274 candidates.