Telegraph columnist Dan Hodges 'streaks' down Whitehall after losing Ukip bet

Dan Hodges braved the bad weather and ran down Whitehall in just a pair of boxer shorts and trainers on the morning of 7 January. The "streak" came after The Daily Telegraph columnist lost a bet over Ukip's general election fortunes.

The 46-year-old predicted Nigel Farage's party would not get more than a 6% share of the vote at the May ballot. But Ukip beat his expectations and secured over 12% and almost four million votes at the general election.

The result may have comes months ago but Hodges, after much prompting from political blog Guido Fawkes, ran from Trafalgar Square to where Parliament Street meets Parliament Square. The Jeremy Corbyn critic finished the run in a sprightly 3.37 minutes.

"It's a great honour to be getting naked and mobile on behalf of the Terrence Higgins Trust. I have got a number of political predictions wrong in my career, but this is the first that has gone to helping such a worthwhile cause," Hodges said. "During my arduous journey I shall also be fortified by the knowledge that Farage and Ukip are – in their own way – helping raise money for the fight against HIV."

Just another broken promise from another failed politico... https://t.co/AjHGazvjM7

— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) January 7, 2016

Bookmaker Ladbrokes donated £300 ($437) to the charities for the run, while Hodges was able to raise more than £800 at the time of writing on his fundraising page.

A spokesperson for Ladbrokes said: "We're glad Dan kept his end up of the bargain up when losing a bet, and we were more than happy to support him, and the Terrence Higgins Trust, which is an incredibly worthy cause."