Zia Yusuf, who resigned as Reform UK chairman on Thursday, is to return to work for the party in a new role. Yusuf will lead what the party calls its "Doge team" – which is modelled on the Department of Government Efficiency set up by US President Donald Trump.

Zia Yusuf has announced he will return to Reform UK despite quitting as the party’s chair just two days ago. Yusuf resigned after almost a year at the forefront of Nigel Farage’s rightwing party. His shock resignation came after he said it was “dumb” of a new Reform MP to ask the government if it intended to ban the burqa.