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Ukip have appointed a new leader and he immediately announced his resignation.

Gerard Batten, who has repeatedly described Islam as a 'death cult' and was acting as interim leader after the ousting of Henry Bolton earlier this year, was installed as the party's full-time leader last night.

It came after he went unopposed in the 'election' to replace Bolton, which Ukip's constitution demands within six weeks after a leader steps down or is sacked.

The party was reportedly facing financial ruin if a full-scale leadership contest, like the one last year which attracted 11 candidates, went ahead.

The bill for such an election would stretch to around £30,000.

Luckily, nobody else applied by the closing date, which Ukip say was last night, so Mr Batten was appointed leader.

The party already been referring to him as leader in official communications, dropping the 'interim' from his title several weeks ago.

(Image: AFP)

It's unclear if and how the process of nominations and closing date was advertised to members.

It's also unclear whether the party increased the deposit required to register as a candidate.

The Mirror has contacted Ukip to ask for clarity on these matters.

Last week the Guardian reported the Ukip hierarchy were trying to "engineer" an uncontested leadership bid for Mr Batten, by introducing stringent rules including long-term party membership and big cash deposits for candidates.

Mr Batten was appointed leader as of 5pm last night, and immediately announced his resignation.

He said: "As I said at the start of the contest, if the election were to be uncontested, I would hold office for 12 months.

"Therefore, I intend to resign on 13th April 2019 so that a full leadership contest may take place. By then I will have decided if I wish to contest that election or not. For the next 12 months, I will concentrate on doing all I can to restore the party's fortunes. A very good start has been made and the party is now on a sound financial footing."

(Image: PA)

He added: "I am pleased to accept the leadership of UKIP. Since my appointment as the Interim Leader, I have made a number of decisions that have put the Party on a firm footing financially and organisationally.

“As Leader, I will do all I can to work for the progress of the Party. UKIP is the only real opposition to our political establishment, and we are needed now as much as ever.”