A FORMER candidate for the Cardiff South and Penarth parliamentary seat is standing for the leadership of UKIP.

John Rees-Evans caused huge controversy in 2014 when he claimed a "gay donkey" had raped his horse.

Mr Rees-Evans who stood in the 2015 general election announced his candidacy today.

Since Nigel Farage stepped down as the national party's leader, UKIP has struggled to find a replacement with Diane James quitting after just 18 days in the job.

He was speaking to anti-UKIP protestors outside a new campaign office and was asked to respond to some comments from his fellow party members.

Speaking about his candidacy, Mr Rees-Evans said: "I strongly believe that UKIP has the opportunity to yet again be ahead of the curve and set the tone of British politics by promoting a platform of direct democracy where every member gets to propose and vote on party policy.

"We live in a digital age yet business is miles ahead of politics on this issue when we should really be engaging all of society on how they want to live and be governed.

"No other candidate was advocating this approach so I thought I would put my own name forward in order to raise this possibility and stimulate interest in revolutionising British politics.

"UKIP has always been one step ahead of everyone else and now has the opportunity to once again lead the way into a new political era."

Other candidates who have announced they will be running include Paul Nuttall, Raheem Kassam and Suzanne Evans