Ukip was in a state of open civil war on Monday night after Nigel Farage publicly warned that the party will collapse unless its sole MP Douglas Carswell is thrown out.

Mr Farage, the former UK Independence Party leader, said Mr Carswell had “sought to split and divide Ukip in every way imaginable” since defecting from the Conservatives to Ukip in 2014.

The two men have been at odds for years over the party's policies but their antipathy came to a head amid claims that Mr Carswell frustrated Mr Farage's chances of being awarded a knighthood.