Nigel Farage has stepped down as leader of UKIP following last month's vote for Britain to leave the European Union, saying he had achieved the aim for which he came into politics.

Mr Farage, 52, has had two stints as leader of the Eurosceptic party since 2006, and announced he was quitting the post after failing to win a seat in the 2015 general election, only to change his mind days later.

In a speech in London setting out UKIP’s strategy for the post-referendum period, Mr Farage said: "During the referendum campaign, I said I want my country back. What I'm saying today is I want my life back, and it begins right now."

In a statement, Mr Farage said: "The victory for the Leave side in the referendum means that my political ambition has been achieved. I came into this struggle from business because I wanted us to be a self-governing nation, not to become a career politician.

"UKIP is in a good position and will continue, with my full support, to attract a significant vote. Whilst we will now leave the European Union, the terms of our withdrawal are unclear.

“If there is too much backsliding by the government and with the Labour Party detached from many of its voters then UKIP's best days may be yet to come".

Nigel Farage says he 'wants his life back' after stepping down as UKIP leader.https://t.co/6FJtpN5pLq — RTÉ News (@rtenews) July 4, 2016

Mr Farage said his political career since first standing for UKIP in the Eastleigh by-election of 1994 had been "a long journey, not at every stage of the way an easy one, although most of it, I have to say, has been tremendous fun".

He added: "Tough though it's been at times, it's all certainly been worth it.

"I came into politics from business because I believed that this nation should be self-governing. I have never been and I have never wanted to be a career politician.

"My aim in being in politics was to get Britain out of the European Union. That is what we voted for in that referendum two weeks ago, and that is why I now feel that I've done my bit, that I couldn't possibly achieve more than we managed to get in that referendum."