Ukip MP Douglas Carswell is at pains to point out he did not try to 'assassinate' Nigel Farage

Douglas Carswell has dismissed the suggestion that he attempted to kill off Ukip leader Nigel Farage.

Reports emerged on Sunday morning that Mr Farage had to flee his Volvo V70 and scale a barrier after a wheel flew off his car while driving home to Kent from Brussels.

According to reports, police told the politician that his car’s wheels had been deliberately tampered with in an act of "foul play".

Many have speculated who might be behind the deed.

@Scottishbking floated this poll on Twitter today...

To which the head of communications for Europsceptic campaign group Leave.EU Andy Wigmore quipped:

Indeed, tensions have run high between Ukip's sole MP, Carswell, and Farage, its leader and an MEP.

Some believe that Carswell should replace Farage as leader and the two have not seen eye-to-eye on all matters concerning policy and direction - including which EU referendum campaign group to join.

Carswell was quick to express his upset at the suggestion he had something to do with Farage's unfortunate experience on the road:

Mr Carswell subsequently told i100.co.uk:

I was very alarmed and concerned to read about the incident involving apparent wheel tampering in today's newspapers. It sounds awful and it must have been very unpleasant for Nigel.

You need to ask Mr Wigmore about the content of his tweets this afternoon.

Mr Wigmore later apologised on Twitter, explaining that it was merely a "quip":

He told i100.co.uk:

It was supposed to be a joke, that's all...

I was more concerned about who leaked the story in the first place. That's more irresponsible than my cheap quip.