The UKIP leadership race has been thrown open after the favourite Steven Woolfe was excluded from the race.
The party's national executive committee said Woolfe was ineligible as a result of a late submission of his application. The MEP blamed a "technical issue" for the delay which meant his paperwork was filed 17 minutes after the deadline.
The race for Nigel Farage's successor has been widely ridiculed after Woolfe said he "forgot" about a drink driving conviction and did not declare it on his bid to be leader.
Allies of the former favourite have raised the possibility of a legal challenge and claimed a "coup" attempt was being made by people linked to UKIP's sole MP Douglas Carswell.
The decision, which the party's NEC said was made by a "clear majority" sets UKIP up for full blown civil war. Three NEC members have quit in protest at the result and Woolfe has the backing of major donor Arron Banks who has threatened to call an emergency general meeting to overturn the decision. Other prominent Woolfe supporters Victoria Ayling, Raymond Finch and Michael McGough said the party's executive was "no longer fit for purpose" and called for a vote of no confidence in the NEC.
But it leaves the race wide open and raises the possibility UKIP will have a Christian leader when the result is announced on September 15. Jonathan Arnott, MEP for north-east England, is an outspoken Christian and one of the six candidates left on the ballot paper.
The others are Bill Etheridge and Diane James, both MEPs, as well as councillor Lisa Duffy and activists Phillip Broughton and Elizabeth Jones.
Although James is seen as the favourite, Arnott's campaign received a major boost on Wednesday morning when he announced UKIP deputy chair Paul Nuttall backed his campaign.
He has written extensively about his Christian faith and right-wing politics on his website. He said that although "called to welcome strangers and help those in need" that command was for individuals and society "needs to balance the needs of the stranger with the needs of society".
Ladbrokes gave Arnott 7/1 odds of winning in the immediate aftermath of the NEC announcement. James was in front on 1/3 and Duffy had 5/1. Then there was a distance to Etheridge, Jones and Broughton on 50/1.
