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Nigel Farage has claimed he was offered a peerage twice earlier this year, with the Brexit Party leader claiming it is one of a number of "baubles" put forward by the Conservative Party.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Mr Farage said: "That happened twice, but we are going back a couple of months. They thought the deal was that if I accepted that, we would only fight a few seats.

Mr Farage claimed he "was not interested" and said of his party: "We won't be bought." A Tory source told the paper his claims "were unsubstantiated gossip" but refused to fully deny them.

The Brexit Party could play a significant role in the December 12 general election but Boris Johnson has ruled out an election pact.

If the party did stand down hundreds of candidates across the country, it would improve the chances of Mr Johnson's Tories gaining a majority or remaining the largest party in a hung parliament.

The South East MEP said he would decide this coming week where he would stand, with Thurrock a "possibility" but it "might make more sense" if he stood in a Labour leave seat in the north.

Thurrock was a target seat for Mr Farage's former party Ukip in 2017 after Tim Aker was within 1,000 votes of Tory Jackie Doyle-Price in 2015.

At the EU referendum, 72.3 per cent of people cast their ballots in favour of Leave, the second highest proportion among the East of England's 47 voting areas.

Speaking about Mr Johnson's Brexit deal, Mr Farage told the paper it was like a piece of cheese.

"When you get it out of the fridge, it's really appetising and delicious for a few days, but after a couple of weeks it stinks and is inedible."

Additional reporting by PA.