Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Outgoing chairman Paul Oakden reads the result of the vote

UKIP members have voted to sack leader Henry Bolton after controversy over racist messages sent by his partner.

The former army officer's fate was decided after 63% voted to back a no confidence motion at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in Birmingham.

He had faced calls to quit after it emerged his partner Jo Marney sent racist messages about Meghan Markle.

Gerard Batten will take over as interim leader and there will be a leadership election within 90 days.

Following the vote, Mr Bolton, who had been in the job for less than five months, said he feared the result would see UKIP "taken off the battlefield" of British politics for months.

He said: "I think it's going to be difficult to unite the party, what we have effectively had is a rejection of a new draft constitution, a reorganisation and indeed a new way of doing politics."

Mr Bolton again said he had "strong affections" for his former girlfriend, who he said sent him a good luck text message before the meeting.

Asked if he was going to get back together with Ms Marney, he said: "I have said all along that once we got the EGM out of the way I would spend time sorting out my private life."

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Henry Bolton was leader less than five months

He was elected in September in the wake of UKIP's disastrous performance in last year's general election.

The party's national executive committee expressed no confidence in him last month, triggering the ballot.

He lost the no confidence motion by 867 votes to 500.

Outgoing chairman Paul Oakden said: "Henry Bolton has been removed by the democratic decision of the membership."

Mr Bolton was the party's fourth leader in 18 months.

He had replaced Paul Nuttall, who quit after the general election - which saw UKIP's vote share shrink to 1.8% from 12.6% in 2015.

Analysis: Alex Forsyth, political correspondent

When Henry Bolton was elected just five months ago, many in UKIP had hoped he'd be the unifying force the party needed, bringing its focus back to Brexit.

But like his two predecessors, his tenure was short lived, and now UKIP is once again seeking leadership and direction.

The party's most senior figures are optimistic that they can find a strong leader who will rally the members and give UKIP a voice in the Brexit debate.

But among some activists who attended the emergency meeting there was frustration, even anger, at the continued turmoil at the top.

Some fear another divisive contest - not least because of the financial implications for the cash-strapped party.

UKIP might survive - most think it will - but for now some don't see how it can regain its place on the political playing field as the influential force it once was.

Mr Batten, London MEP, said UKIP's membership had made the right decision to sack Mr Bolton.

The interim leader said: "I believe that you have made the best decision that you could in the circumstances."

Mr Bolton said he was considering legal action as a result of the way the process to get rid of him was handled, but Mr Batten responded by saying: "Get on with the rest of your life."

Prior to the vote ex-leader Nigel Farage had backed Mr Bolton, saying "for all his faults", removing him would hasten UKIP's path to "irrelevance".

UKIP's leadership changes

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Nigel Farage was succeeded as UKIP leader by Diane James - he then took over as interim leader when she quit</s>Henry Bolton has been ousted as Ukip leader after party members backed a motion of no confidence in him.

Henry Bolton has been ousted as Ukip leader after party members backed a motion of no confidence in him.

At a crisis meeting in Birmingham, activists voted by 867 to 500 to express their lack of faith in his ability to lead the party.

The move now leaves the party facing a further period of uncertainty, with Mr Bolton forced out after only being elected in September last year. Mr Bolton had attempted to cling on to the leadership despite a no confidence vote by the ruling national executive committee (NEC) and a revolt by several senior figures in the party in protest at his relationship with model Jo Marney.

Mr Bolton said he still has "strong affections" for his former girlfriend who sent offensive messages about Meghan Markle, and compared the scrutiny of his private life to that faced by Diana, Princess of Wales. Ukip will face a fresh leadership election within 90 days after Mr Bolton lost the no confidence motion.

Outgoing chairman Paul Oakden said: "Henry Bolton has been removed by the democratic decision of the membership". Gerard Batten will take over as Ukip's interim leader, the party announced.

Speculation is mounting that Mr Bolton's exit could pave the way for the return of former leader Nigel Farage. Senior Ukip figure Suzanne Evans told the Press Association ahead of the vote that it was "crunch time" for the party and Mr Farage should again take the helm.

The pro-Brexit party has lurched from crisis to crisis since Mr Farage relinquished power following the 2016 referendum, with a succession of leading party figures failing to keep a grip on the leadership.

Mr Bolton earlier said he thought "it's going to be very difficult for the party to survive" another round of leadership turmoil.

He had also suggested he would not rule out running for the top job again in future. The cash-strapped party faces a separate series of challenges, including the prospect of a hefty legal bill over a defamation action brought by Rotherham's three Labour MPs against MEP Jane Collins.</s>
• Members voted to get rid of Bolton at a UKIP meet-up in Birmingham on Saturday.
• Bolton was under pressure to quit over racist text messages his ex-girlfriend sent about Megan Markle.
• Bolton leaves the post after just 142 days in charge. Gerard Batten has taken over as interim leader.
• The party is also teetering towards financial ruin.

LONDON – Henry Bolton has been sacked as UKIP leader after just 142 days in charge.

The party’s chairman, Paul Oakden, announced shortly before 17:00 (GMT) today that members had voted to support the UKIP National Executive Committee’s no-confidence vote against Bolton.

The UKIP NEC voted to remove Bolton as the party’s leader in December, following the revelation that his then-girlfriend, Jo Marney, sent racist text messages about Megan Markle, Prince Harry’s fiancé.

The texts said Markle would “taint” the Royal Family and had a “tiny brain.” Marney also described Markle as a “negro” and said black people are ugly.

Bolton initially distanced himself from Marney’s comments and claimed to have ended their relationship.

However, the pair were spotted dining together in central London just days later, and Bolton has since refused to rule out getting back together with the 25-year-old.

More than half of Bolton’s top team quit in an effort to force him to resign over the scandal, but he refused– instead pledging to fight on as party leader and implement sweeping changes to UKIP’s constitution.

Party members held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in Birmingham today, where they decided to remove Bolton from the position he has held since just September.

Here is how UKIP members voted:

Gerard Batten, the party’s Brexit spokesperson, has taken over as interim leader. Batten, an MEP for London, once suggested the Nazis created the “basic plan” for the European Union. He is the party’s seventh leader within the space of just two years.

This is how Marney, a 25-year old model, reacted to Bolton’s sacking:

Former UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, had come out in support of Bolton earlier this week.

Farage, who was UKIP leader from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016, urged the party membership to throw its weight behind Bolton in an interview with The Telegraph.

“I believe it would be better to allow Henry Bolton, with all his faults, the chance to turn UKIP into an electoral machine again,” Farage said.

“The alternative is for the party to carry on down the path of self-destruction into irrelevance.”

UKIP latest leadership drama comes as the party teeters towards a financial crisis.

A judge ruled on Thursday that the party must contribute towards legal fees totalling £660,000 after one of its MEPs was found guilty of defamation. The Guardian estimates UKIP will be forced to pay at least £200,000.

Last month, UKIP treasurer John Bickley admitted that the party had been “living hand to mouth since 2015.” Bolton was not paid for his role as leader and the party has had to make a number of cutbacks across its operations.

The party’s former head of communications, Gawain Towler, was asked to take a significant pay cut before he quit earlier this month after 13 years in the role, a senior UKIP source told Business Insider.

A source close to the party recently told BI the party’s existence is under threat, saying “they’re f****d.”</s>UKIP leader Henry Bolton arrives at the ICC in Birmingham as the UKIP EGM decide his future as leader.

Henry Bolton has stepped down as leader of UKIP just five months after being elected leader, after members overwhelmingly voted to remove him.

More than 1,500 UKIP members congregated in Birmingham on Saturday for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to decide his fate, after a controversy-strewn few weeks in which he was called on to defend offensive messages sent by his girlfriend about Meghan Markle, the fiancée of Prince Harry.

Out of 1,300 ballot papers, 857 were cast in favour of a motion of no confidence, a majority of 67%. The party's National Executive met immediately after the vote and after about 15 minutes announced that Gerard Batten would be the interim leader.

Outgoing party chairman Paul Oakden told delegates to remain faithful to the party regardless of the decision.</s>UKIP leader Henry Bolton has been sacked after losing a no confidence motion at an extraordinary general meeting of party members.

Members backed the motion by 867 votes to 500 at the EGM in Birmingham on Saturday, giving him a 37% share.

Mr Bolton - who told Sky News he was "quietly confident" ahead of the meeting - had been clinging on to the leadership after a revolt by several senior party figures over his relationship with model Jo Marney.

He admitted he still had "strong affections" for the 25-year-old, who resigned from the party following allegations she had sent racist text messages about Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle.

Despite losing the motion, Mr Bolton is still eligible to stand again in the forthcoming leadership contest, which will be held within the next 90 days.

When asked by Sky News whether he would run, Mr Bolton said: "I don't know yet. I've just spoken to my team, we've had a quick batting around of the different options. I'm not ruling out any option at the moment."

He said he was "slightly disappointed" to have lost the no confidence vote, but that he was "not finished with politics".

Responding to the possibility of Mr Bolton re-running, UKIP's leader in Wales, Neil Hamilton, told Sky News: "He could stand again, he's no stranger to humiliation."

He added that Mr Bolton would be "exceptionally foolish" to even remain a party member, and predicted a "swathe of members coming back to UKIP" as a result of his departure.

The party's national executive committee (NEC), which triggered the no confidence vote, has chosen Gerard Batten as interim leader.

:: Farage: Henry Bolton could be our Corbyn

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"I hope that we'll have a period of stability and that Gerard will be allowed to remain in post as interim leader for an extended period of time," Mr Hamilton said.

"We still have to get a clean Brexit. The Government is bungling that by its own actions."

Party chairman Paul Oakden echoed Mr Hamilton's comments regarding the party's future, telling members at the meeting on Saturday to "keep the faith".

"We matter now more than we ever have," he said.

:: Farage: UKIP could be 'worthless' in 18 months

Mr Bolton had received the backing of Nigel Farage before the vote, with the former leader fearing another leadership contest would risk the party's "self-destruction".

Writing in the Daily Telegraph on Friday, Mr Farage said: "I believe it would be better to allow Mr Bolton, with all his faults, the chance to turn UKIP into an electoral machine again.

"The alternative is for the party to carry down the path of self-destruction into irrelevance.

"It may be too late to save UKIP, but you never know."

Whoever replaces Mr Bolton full-time will be UKIP's 10th permanent leader.

The bookies' favourite is East of England MEP Tim Aker, followed by London Assembly member David Kurten and - despite having insisted he will not return again - Mr Farage.

Interim leader Mr Batten - who told Mr Bolton to "get on with the rest of your life" following the vote - has not ruled out standing for the leadership on a permanent basis.

Mr Bolton was only elected in September, following the party's disastrous result at last summer's General Election under Paul Nuttall.

:: Farage: It's reform or die for UKIP</s>Henry Bolton has been ousted as Ukip leader by members after threatening to sue the party at an Extraordinary General Meeting.

Bolton, who called for the meeting after being given a vote of no confidence by party chiefs in January, lost a ballot of members with 63% backing his sacking.

The former soldier was hoping he could win the support of Ukip members at the meeting in Birmingham, but alienated much of the crowd with a threat to sue the party if he lost during his final speech on Saturday afternoon.

In an earlier address to the around 1,400 members, Bolton claimed his opponents were “the enemy within” the party.

But 876 of the 1406 votes cast were in favour of removing Bolton.

Party veteran Gerard Batten, a founder of Ukip, was announced as the interim leader, while a new leadership election will be held within 90 days.</s>Henry Bolton has been sacked as Ukip leader after party members backed a motion of no confidence in him.

At a crisis meeting in Birmingham, activists voted by 867 to 500 to express their lack of faith in his ability to lead the party.

The move now leaves the party facing a further period of uncertainty, with Mr Bolton forced out after only being elected in September last year.

Mr Bolton had attempted to cling on to the leadership despite a no confidence vote by the ruling national executive committee (NEC) and a revolt by several senior figures in the party in protest at his relationship with model Jo Marney.

Mr Bolton said he still has “strong affections” for his former girlfriend who sent offensive messages about Meghan Markle, and compared the scrutiny of his private life to that faced by Diana, Princess of Wales.

Ukip will face a fresh leadership election within 90 days after Mr Bolton lost the no confidence motion.

Outgoing chairman Paul Oakden said: “Henry Bolton has been removed by the democratic decision of the membership”.

Mr Oakden said that he viewed the meeting as a success - because unlike the last one, no one had died. At the EGM in 2000 “a member of the party died of a serious cardiac arrest”.

Gerard Batten will take over as Ukip’s interim leader, the party announced.

READ MORE: Leader comment: Ukip would not be missed

Speculation is mounting that Mr Bolton’s exit could pave the way for the return of former leader Nigel Farage.

Senior Ukip figure Suzanne Evans told the Press Association ahead of the vote that it was “crunch time” for the party and Mr Farage should again take the helm.

The pro-Brexit party has lurched from crisis to crisis since Mr Farage relinquished power following the 2016 referendum, with a succession of leading party figures failing to keep a grip on the leadership.

Mr Bolton earlier said he thought “it’s going to be very difficult for the party to survive” another round of leadership turmoil.

He had also suggested he would not rule out running for the top job again in future.

The cash-strapped party faces a separate series of challenges, including the prospect of a hefty legal bill over a defamation action brought by Rotherham’s three Labour MPs against MEP Jane Collins.

Mr Bolton’s former girlfriend Jo Marney responded on social media to his ousting, writing that her love for him was not dependent on him being party leader.

The model tweeted: “Pffft. Bunch of muppets. My love for Henry is unconditional of political leaderships. I ain’t going anywhere.”

Before the vote, she had tweeted: “Very best of luck to @_HenryBolton today. Will I be there? No, I shan’t be. This is a decision for the members, and I am not a member. It’s time for UKIP to focus on politics and Brexit and not private lives. HB is the man to reform UKIP and deliver us through Brexit & beyond.”

The party’s ruling national executive committee had backed a motion of no confidence in Mr Bolton last month after it was revealed 25-year-old model Ms Marney had made highly offensive comments about Prince Harry’s fiancee and black people.

Mr Bolton refused to rule out the possibility that he could join another party after being driven from the leadership.

He told Sky News: “You can’t keep a good man down, I’m not finished in politics, so just one of those bumps in the road.

“I’ve just spoken to my team, we’ve had a quick batting around of the different options and we’ll continue doing that over the next few days.”

Asked whether he could stand for Ukip leader again or for another party, he said: “I’m not ruling out any option at the moment - the only time that I will rule options is during the process of making decisions.”

Mr Bolton also denied reports that he threatened to sue the party during the leadership contest, saying: “There have been issues that I believe and my legal advice believes has been instrumental in creating a situation which has brought about this vote of no confidence and this EGM.

“The NEC have the proof of that but have decided not to take any action about it until after the EGM.”</s>Members of Ukip voted yesterday to sack Henry Bolton, who had been elected only last September as the crisis-hit party’s fourth leader in 18 months. Bolton had been clinging on to the leadership despite a revolt by senior figures after the press reported his relationship with Jo Marney, a model who sent offensive messages about Meghan Markle, the fiancee of Prince Harry.

Bolton was ousted on Saturday at an emergency meeting where an overwhelming majority of party members endorsed a motion of no confidence in his leadership passed by the party’s ruling national executive committee (NEC). Activists at the meeting in Birmingham voted by 867 to 500 in favour of a no-confidence motion on his ability to lead Ukip.

The party’s new interim leader is Gerard Batten, a Ukip MEP who sparked controversy last year when he said that non-Muslims should have a “perfectly rational fear” of Islam, which he described as a “death cult” steeped in violence. To cheers, he told members on Saturday that getting rid of Bolton was the best result that could have been achieved.

“We have had many many crises in Ukip and I think this one today was about whether we have a future or not,” Batten told the meeting.

Speaking after the vote, Bolton said that he did not know whether he would stand again as leader, and hinted at “other options” which could include joining or setting up another party. “I am slightly disappointed. You don’t embark upon something like this with the intention of losing,” he told Sky News.

“It’s not a great feeling but you can’t keep a good man down and I have not finished with politics. It’s just one of those bumps in the road. I’ve just spoken to my team, we’ve had a quick batting around of the different options and we’ll continue doing that over the next few days.”

Bolton also said he was considering legal action to challenge the way the process to oust him was handled. The election of a fifth party leader since Nigel Farage’s resignation in September 2016 will take place within 90 days.

Before the vote, Bolton had disclosed that he still had “strong affections” for his former girlfriend and he compared the scrutiny of his private life with that faced by Diana, Princess of Wales.

When the result was announced Marney posted on Twitter: “Pffft. Bunch of muppets. My love for Henry is unconditional of political leaderships. I ain’t going anywhere.”

Ukip’s general secretary, Paul Oakley, had suggested that Bolton’s days as leader were numbered even if he survived the vote.</s>Members of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) voted Saturday to remove their leader Henry Bolton following a scandal over his private life, plunging the anti-EU, anti-immigration group into fresh crisis.

At a special general meeting in the central English city of Birmingham, 63 percent of members endorsed a vote of no confidence in Bolton made last month by the party's ruling committee, chairman Paul Oakden said.

Under the former leadership of Nigel Farage, the anti-immigration party was instrumental in the 2016 vote for Brexit, but has since been dogged by in-fighting, financial woes and falling public support.

Bolton, a former army officer, is the third elected leader since Farage stepped down and has vowed major reform of the party.

However, he risked derision by comparing the scrutiny over his private life to that of Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi al-Fayed, in the weeks before they died in a Paris car crash in 1997.

"I understand the scrutiny and public interest but it's been going on for six weeks. There's probably been nothing like that since the Profumo affair or Diana and Dodi," he told Sky News television.

John Profumo was forced to resign as war minister in 1963 after having an affair with a woman who was also involved with a Russian diplomat, in a scandal that almost brought down the government.

The challenge to Bolton's leadership came after he left his wife and began an affair with a young UKIP activist, who was subsequently exposed for sending racist messages about Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle.

Bolton has ended the relationship but a string of senior UKIP politicians resigned over his leadership, warning the situation had become "almost farcical".</s>UKIP members have voted to sack leader Henry Bolton after controversy over racist messages sent by his partner.

The former army officer's fate was decided after 63% voted to back a no confidence motion at an extraordinary general meeting in Birmingham.

He had faced calls to quit after it emerged his partner Jo Marney sent racist messages about Meghan Markle.

Gerard Batten will take over as interim leader and there will be a leadership election within 90 days.

Following the vote, Mr Bolton, who had been in the job for less than six months, said he had "not finished in politics yet".

He was elected in September in the wake of UKIP's disastrous performance in last year's general election.

The party's national executive committee expressed no confidence in him last month, triggering the ballot.

Outgoing chairman Paul Oakden said: "Henry Bolton has been removed by the democratic decision of the membership".

Mr Bolton, who lost the no confidence motion by 867 votes to 500, was the party's fourth leader in 18 months.

He had replaced Paul Nuttall, who quit after the general election - which saw UKIP's vote share shrink to 1.8% from 12.6% in 2015.
UK Independence Party (UKIP) members vote to remove Henry Bolton as leader amid controversy over his private life and leadership. Gerard Batten becomes interim leader.