Nigel Farage has resigned as leader of the UK Independence Party

Sky News

Nigel Farage has announced his resignation as leader of the UK Independent Party. He made the surprise announcement in Westminster on Monday morning.

Farage - who spent his political career campaigning for Britain to leave the EU up until the historic June 23 referendum - made the following statement:

"I have decided to stand aside as Leader of UKIP. 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."

Watch Farage's surprise resignation in the clip below.

 This is a developing story.