A UKIP MEP has announced he has defected to the Conservatives - less than 24 hours after he was set to attend a party fundraiser in Horwich.

Amjad Bashir was due to attend a business event at the Bolton Whites Hotel with UKIP leader Nigel Farage on Friday evening, to speak to entrepreneurs about the benefits of leaving the  European Union.

But he and fellow MEP Steven Woolfe did not attend, and were replaced on the panel by North West MEPs Paul Nuttall and Louise Bours - with the audience told Mr Bashir and Mr Woolfe had been delayed by traffic on the way back from Brussells.

Earlier today Mr Bashir told the BBC he had left the party because they had become a 'party of ruthless self interest' and had a 'ridiculous' lack of policies.

But in a statement released on their website, UKIP said they had suspended Mr Bashir pending investigation into a number of 'extremely serious' issues, including interference with candidate selection and 'unanswered financial and employment questions', which Mr Bashir denies.

Mr Bashir was formerly the UKIP spokesman for communities and represents Yorkshire and Humber in the European Parliament.