UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Diane James is standing down from the role 18 days after she was elected, the BBC reported Tuesday.

In a statement, the MEP said she would not be "formalising my recent nomination".

The 56-year-old MEP for South East England said she did not have "sufficient authority" to see through changes which she had planned.

James succeeded Nigel Farage on 16 September after he quit in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the EU.

She won with 8,451 out of the 17,970 votes cast, ahead of Lisa Duffy, who received 4,591.

James's decision is thought to be partly due to family commitments.

In her statement, she said since her election "it has become clear that I do not have sufficient authority, nor the full support of all my MEP colleagues and party officers to implement changes I believe necessary and upon which I based my campaign.

"For personal and professional reasons therefore I will not take the election process further."

Saying it would be her "final media statement on the issue", James added: "I will continue to concentrate fully on my activities and responsibilities as an elected UKIP Member of the European Parliament".

Source: MENA