Nigel Farage was forced into a humiliating climbdown yesterday after Ukip’s only MP defied party pressure on him to take £3.3million in public money.

The Ukip leader held crisis talks with Douglas Carswell as the party tried to persuade him to drop opposition to the proposal to hire 15 members of staff at Westminster.

But Mr Farage quietly withdrew the plans after Mr Carswell steadfastly refused the money and said he would not allow the party to ‘create a Ukip trough in the House of Commons’. Having gained nearly 3.9million votes in the general election, Ukip is eligible to £663,474-a-year in ‘short money’, which amounts to £3.3million through the five-year-term of parliament, to cover its parliamentary costs.

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Nigel Farage held crisis talks with his only MP Douglas Carswell (left) today in the row over the public money

The party drew up plans to take the full amount and significantly increase its staffing in Parliament, but Mr Carswell furiously denounced the use of taxpayer funds, adding: ‘Ukip is supposed to be different and Ukip will be different.’

A source close to Mr Farage accused Mr Carswell of ‘absurd’ and ‘improper’ behaviour.

The challenge to Mr Farage’s leadership comes as senior figures in the party have privately voiced anger at his so-called ‘un-resignation’.

Mr Farage stood down as Ukip leader on Friday – as he had promised to if he lost his bid to become an MP in South Thanet.

He recommended that deputy chairman Suzanne Evans take over as acting leader before a leadership election in September, in which he said he would consider standing.

But on Monday he withdrew his resignation after he said he faced ‘overwhelming support’ from the party calling for him to return.

An email leaked to the Mail shows how Ukip election candidates were told by head of candidates David Soutter to send supportive messages about Mr Farage ahead of a meeting of the party’s national executive committee (NEC).

One candidate last night said they felt pressurised into backing Mr Farage’s continued leadership and feared ramifications for their future in the party if they did not. The candidate said: ‘It was clear that this email was putting pressure on candidates to call for Farage to stay. If you didn’t agree there was no way you could speak up because clearly they’d know who you were and could stop your future chances.

‘What was it Chairman Mao did? Asked anyone to come up with things they weren’t happy with. When they did he purged them.’

Douglas Carswell today stepped up his criticism of ‘rather excitable’ Ukip officials, mocking their demand that he hire 15 staff like an 'American senator'

In the email sent on Saturday afternoon, Mr Soutter wrote: ‘This is an urgent appeal to all of you to support Nigel Farage at this point in the Parties (sic) history.

‘Nigel has led the party to a famous victory…It is vital that Nigel stays at the helm and I know you will all support this call to him to carry on the fight.

‘Please email with messages of support today. This is the most important thing you can do today.’

But yesterday Mr Carswell openly challenged Mr Farage’s authority by warning he would not be willing to negotiate on the ‘short money’.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I am absolutely certain that Nigel will agree that this is the right thing to do. I am quite certain there will be agreement on this.

‘I know that all of those people who voted for us because they want political change will recognise that here at last is a party that is prepared to actually practice what it preaches.’

Mr Farage and Mr Carswell met with the party’s treasurer Andrew Reid yesterday afternoon.

Following the talks, Mr Farage issued a face-saving statement claiming there was ‘ongoing discussion about how best to represent four million Ukip voters in a way that is sensible and correct’.

But a source confirmed that Mr Carswell had refused to budge from his position and that the party would not be taking the full amount of cash.