A CLOSE ally of Nigel Farage made almost £10,000 on the currency markers after he wrongly conceded defeat the night of the EU referendum.

The Ukip leader announced as polls closed on June 23 that he thought Remain had “edged it”, despite claims he had seen private polling showing Leave would win.

3 Nigel Farage conceded defeat after polls closed on June 23 before winning hours later Credit: Reuters

His declaration that the Brexiteers had been defeated had a big impact on the pound, which briefly rallied against the dollar.

According to a new book about the Brexit campaign by Tim Shipman, the Sunday Times political editor, a confidant of Mr Farage, said he had told him about exit polls for “10 different financial institutions and hedge funds” pointing towards a Leave vote.

Chris Bruni-Lowe said in his opinion: “Nigel moved the market so much by doing that, that basically a lot of people got a lot of money.

3 His comments led the pound to briefly rally against the dollar Credit: Getty Images

“I don’t think it was on purpose. I think he genuinely didn’t believe what I was telling him.

“The market moved to such an extraordinary extent that some people made an astronomical sum of money on it.”

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This meant that speculators who bet the pound would fall once the full result was known were able to cash in.

Among those to profit from the practice known as “shorting” were Hermann Kelly, Mr Farage’s director of communications in Brussels, who according to Mr Shipman’s book made £9,500.

3 He said there were conflicting polls on June 23, which is why he conceded defeat Credit: PA

The investor and Brexit supporter Crispin Odey later revealed he had made £220million.

Asked why he made his “concession” statement Mr Farage said the polls “were split”.

He said there was conflicting information from both sides, adding: “I didn’t know what to think.”

Mr Farage denied he had helped his friends in the City or to make money himself, saying: “No, no no. I wasn’t shorting it - I should have done.”