内容摘要：But President Vladimir Putin has already scored something of a diplomatic victory

But President Vladimir Putin has already scored something of a diplomatic victory

Reform UK, formerly known as the Brexit Party until the UK’s exit of the EU, won five seats at July's election, giving it a foothold in Parliament.Following its rebrand in 2021, it is aiming to become a permanent fixture on the right of British politics, with an emphasis on reducing immigration, tougher policies on crime and slashing taxes.

Now, it is aiming to overhaul its party structures, as it seeks to use its election performance as a platform to build longer-term electoral success.Farage revealed ahead of the conference he would be giving up ownership of the party, which was set up as a private limited company to fast-track its creation ahead of the European Parliament elections in spring 2019.Addressing delegates, Farage said the initial structure had allowed the party not to be infiltrated by "extremist groups", adding that new political parties were often vulnerable to being "hijacked".

He added: “We don’t want extremists, we don’t want bigots, we don’t want people who think that way, because we represent the silent, decent majority of this great country."Around 4,000 activists are attending the party's gathering in the West Midlands, around four times as many as last year and its biggest yet.

To the sound of Eminem's 2002 hit Without Me, which has become a familiar entrance tune for the Reform UK leader, Farage waved to activists as he lapped the auditorium at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre before his speech.

Farage, who was elected as an MP in July at his eighth attempt, was watched by the party's other four MPs, including Lee Anderson, who sat on top of an open-top double decker bus inside the conference hall.Mr Knight lives half a mile away, after grabbing his diving gear he was on-site within 10 minutes.

The inquest heard that when he arrived a member of staff from Liquid Leisure was on a paddleboard and pointed to an area for him to search.He said: "I was swimming circles in the area."

When he came up the fire and rescue service were in a boat and pointing with poles to an area for him to search.He said: "I continued searching in that location."