A Brexit Party candidate has quit the party warning its strategy of fielding candidates in every seat risks harming the prospects of delivering Britain's exit from the EU.

Stephen Peddie, who was standing in Tonbridge and Malling, resigned in protest after leader Nigel Farage's stance.

In a series of tweets, the retired senior banker and management consultant said: "I resigned as a PPC because I worried TBP was evolving from a national asset to a national threat.

"This is a fantastical and dangerous strategy.”

"We have 'a' Brexit only because of Farage, that doesn't make it his to destroy along with our country.

"Given the Corbyn menace, PPCs must ensure they are still best serving their country.

"I've quit as a PPC in exasperation. I suspect I'm far from alone."

Mr Peddie's resignation is a stark contrast to what he thought when he was nominated as a candidate.

In a statement he said: "The old political parties have failed the country everywhere, at every level and for every generation.

"They have dug the deep hole in which we now find ourselves and if we don’t take the opportunity of the widely anticipated autumn general election to stop them, they'll keep digging until the damage inflicted on British society and our economy is proven irreversible."

Nigel Farage has defended the party's policy of fielding candidates in most seats, saying it was vital that people were not duped by the Conservatives party's claim that its Brexit deal represented a clean break.

The leader also announced he is not planning to stand as a candidate in the December poll, saying that he would better serve the cause of Brexit by campaigning across the country.

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