Nigel Farage quit as Ukip leader after death threats increased following the Brexit vote
Brexiteer has made a statement to police as he has become worried about the surge in people threatening to kill him
NIGEL Farage decided to quit as Ukip leader due to the increase in death threats following the Brexit vote, it has emerged.
He has given a statement to police about the threats which he has received since Britain voted to leave the EU.
Yesterday in his resignation speech he said after successfully campaigning for Brexit “I want my life back”.
And he admitted the role had come at a significant “cost” to him, his wife Kirsten and his children.
It was revealed today Farage spoke to detectives after becoming worried about the surge in death threats.
One source told : “He has been very concerned about the death threats.
“They have really got to him.”
Recent threats online have included:
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Suzanne Evans, the party’s former deputy chairman, is desperate to stand to replace him as leader of Ukip but she might not get the chance.
She temporarily had the top job following last year’s general election when Farage resigned – but he was then reinstated as leader three days later.
This time round she might not be able to stand in a leadership contest as she is currently serving a six-month suspension after being accused of briefing against Ukip.
Farage said there would be a new leader by the party conference in September – which means 51-year-old Evans will fall short of being able to run unless she is let back in Ukip early.
Yesterday she told BBC Radio 4’s World At One it was “nigh on impossible” for her to stand because of the suspension.
She said: “I challenged homophobia in the party and as a result that was seen as somehow disloyal, something that still completely mystifies me, but we are where we are.
“I was suspended back in March for six months so I believe – although I’m hearing that the rules might have changed for people standing for the leadership election – but I understand that would effectively put me out of the running.”
Ukip’s only MP Douglas Carswell has ruled himself out of the leadership contest, saying the chances of him standing are “somewhere between nil and zero”.
In a statement released by Ukip, 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.”
He has hinted he may intervene if it looked like Britain was going to get a “rotten deal” over the European Union.
But he insisted he would not return as leader.