Nigel Farage 'is in talks to form new political enterprise dubbed Ukip 2.0'

The former leader of Ukip and architect of Brexit is said to be in talks about forming a new "political movement".

Nigel Farage is reportedly in talks with the former bankroller of UKIP, Arron Banks, although he has not said anything publicly.

A source close to Farage said the pair were looking at setting up a political movement rather than a traditional party, the Guardian reported.

However the MEP told the Express that he was not tempted to return to the leadership but the paper reported his allies' belief that he could join a party dubbed Ukip 2.0.

The paper suggested that Banks could chair the new party while Farage could become president.

Banks bankrolled the Leave.EU campaign and said he quit Ukip to focus on a new movement. Farage never managed to get elected to Westminster as an MP but his influence within the Ukip party, which he has led twice, is still considerable.

He hosts a radio phone-in show on LBC and appears on the US rightwing talk show circuit so it is unclear whether he would be keen for a return to frontline politics.

A senior Ukip source told the Guardian: "Nigel is playing his cards very close to his chest. I'm not sure if he even knows yet exactly what he wants to do."

A spokesman for Farage told the BBC: "There is no chance of him coming back as Ukip leader. He wouldn't consider it for a second."

His former party has been been left reeling after its current leader, Henry Bolton, whom Farage had backed, suffered a vote of no confidence by UKIP in light of the controversy surrounding his relationship with 25-year-old Jo Marney who sent racist tweets about Meghan Markle.

The party's support has dropped considerably since the four million people who voted for it in 2015 to around 600,000 today.