Ex-UKIP donor Arron Banks will not contest Clacton and has dig at MP Douglas Carswell

Former donor for the UK Independence Party, Arron Banks, will not stand as an MP for the party in Clacton, after his first visit to the town.

The multi-millionaire had stated his intention to stand for the seat even though he admitted he knew "nothing at all" about the Essex constituency.

Banks visited Clacton for the first time on Monday (24 April) where he had started the day hoping to convince party members to lend their support to him for the seat.

But just a few hours later, Banks announced his U-turn saying he did not want to stand in the way of "hard-working Ukip activists" in the constituency and will instead support a bid by Jeff Bray.

When the General Election was called earlier in April, the 51-year-old said he would challenge current MP Douglas Carswell, who had left Ukip. But Carswell decided last Thursday not to stand for re-election adding he would be voting for the Conservatives on 8 June.

Instead both he and former leader Nigel Farage will be "campaigning hard" for the Bray campaign, he added in a statement tweeted by his Leave.Eu account.

Banks also attacked Douglas Carswell whom he described as "the epitome of a nasty little career politician who didn't give two hoots for the area. He stood originally for Ukip because he knew they would win the seat in a General Election. He used Ukip and did nothing for Clacton."

In an interview with BBC Essex, Banks, who has owned several insurance companies including website GoSkippy.com, had stated that he knew "nothing at all" about the constituency, only that it was one of Great Britain's most Eurosceptic areas.

On the same day, Ukip leader Paul Nuttall refused to confirm whether he would stand as an MP in the general election, after losing out when standing for the Stoke-on-Trent Central seat in February.

The Eurosceptic party has announced an "integration agenda", which will include banning face coverings in public places because they are a "deliberate barrier to integration" and pose a security risk.

The party also announced proposals that schoolgirls at risk of female genital mutilation would be given mandatory medical examinations.