EU referendum: Nigel Farage launches Ukip’s battlebus

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UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has launched his party's battle bus, demanding "we want our country back".

Farage, rejected by the mainstream pro-Brexit campaign Vote Leave, launched the tour which will hit towns across the country.

The national tour was unveiled in London, with Farage tweeting: "It's time to liven up the EU referendum campaign."

Last week Farage was in the midst of a battle with Vote Leave, who were angered by ITV's choice to choose the Ukip leader as Prime Minister David Cameron's opponent in an EU referendum TV special.

At the time, Vote Leave's head of media Robert Oxley said that Farage had done a "tremendous amount" in the referendum, but said he wasn't best placed to win over voters still on the fence.

Read more: Remain seems to be leading – the reality is more misty

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Farage disagreed, asserting Boris Johnson was suited to winning voters in the home counties, but he would be better placed in the midlands and the north.

Meanwhile, in an in-depth interview with the Guardian, Farage has argued that those in charge of Vote Leave are "cretins", though said he doesn't have a problem with the group's four senior Tory politicians.

He added: "[Vote Leave] brief every day that I’m toxic, I put voters off, and there is absolutely no statistical evidence to back that up at all."