Westminster as it happened: Ukip's Henry Bolton refuses to resign despite mass resignations

This is from Downing Street on the Prime Minister's meeting with Rex Tillerson:

“The Prime Minister attended a part of the National Security Adviser’s meeting with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at 10 Downing Street today.

“They discussed the continuing depth and breadth of the special relationship. 

“They agreed on the importance of the international community coming together to counter Iran’s destabilising regional activity, and the Prime Minister reiterated the UK's commitment to the Iran nuclear deal."

Henry Bolton said "it may be" that he will use his statement to say he will fight on as Ukip leader.

Asked if it was correct that he would attempt to hold on to his position, he told the Press Association: "It may be. I am making a statement at four o'clock."

Ukip press spokesman makes light of the ongoing row over Henry Bolton's leadership of the party.

Peter Whittle, who stood as Ukip's candidate for London mayor in 2016, has resigned as the party's spokesman for the capital.

Repeating an earlier call for Henry Bolton to quit, he said: "The current situation cannot continue."

Here is the latest on Rex Tillerson's visit to London, where the US Secretary of State reaffirmed America's commitment to the "special relationship" amid reports of strains between London and Donald Trump's administration.

Following talks in London with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Mr Tillerson said the US continued to "treasure" its transatlantic ties with the UK.

"We also view this as the special relationship. It has been and will be," he said.

"We spend a lot of time talking about the world's problems. Sometimes we forget about the importance of our own relationship.

"We treasure this relationship. I treasure Boris's relationship with me personally."

Mr Johnson echoed Mr Tillerson's support for the special relationship.

"It is always worth saying that the relationship between the US and the UK is absolutely fundamental to our diplomacy but also to our economy," he said.

Both men called for "restraint" on all sides following the incursion by Turkish forces into northern Syria, where they are attacking Kurdish fighters supported by Britain and the US.

Mr Tillerson said: "We are concerned about the Turkish incident in the north of Syria."

Ukip High Command - which has in the past knocked itself unconscious in a fist fight in the EU Parliament building, accused gay people of causing bad weather and a gay donkey of raping a horse - has told its leader he must stand down over his “poor judgement," says sketchwriter Tom Peck.

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Latest on Ukip - Henry Bolton will make a statement at 4pm in Folkestone after being hit with multiple resignations. Speculation is mounting that he will try to stay in his post.

Over in the Commons, MPs are grilling Communities Secretary Sajid Javid on dangerous cladding on tower blocks in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Shadow housing secretary John Healey asks why only 3 tower blocks have had their cladding fully removed since the fire in June.

Henry Bolton's former girlfriend Jo Marney has taken to Twitter to defend the under-fire Ukip leader in the wake of a string of resignations from his frontbench.

It comes after Ukip's ruling national executive committee backed a motion of no confidence in Mr Bolton on Sunday after it was revealed that Ms Marney had made highly offensive comments about Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle. 

The Speaker has grated an urgent question in the Commons about plans to stop private sector pension abuse.