Richard Tice has slapped down Nigel Farage over his hint at a possible election pact with the Tories.

       Mr Tice, the Reform UK leader, said there were “no deals” to be done with the Conservatives after Mr Farage suggested he could be willing to come to an agreement.

       Mr Farage, the honorary president of Reform UK, said he would be open to “a conversation” with the Conservatives if they give him “something back” for the “huge favours” he has done over the years.

       In an interview with The Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots show, Mr Farage said: “I’ve done them some huge favours over the years as a party. Give me something back. We might have a conversation.”

       However, Mr Tice dismissed this as “banter”, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The reality is there is no deals with the Conservative Party. He’s having a bit of banter with Harry Cole of The Sun, and that’s a bit of fun. But the reality is we are doing no deals with the Tories.

       “You also have to have a sense of humour within life. I’m very happy to provide the exact clarification. Of course there’s no deals, of course not, absolutely not. I’m the leader of the party, and I’ve been saying that very clearly for the last few years.”

       Appearing on a panel with Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, Mr Farage said the pair “should be in the same party together” because they were natural allies.

       He claimed to have helped the Conservatives on several occasions, having “got rid of” Theresa May with the launch of the Brexit Party and stood aside in hundreds of seats to pave the way for a Boris Johnson victory in 2019, adding: “What are they going to do back for me?”

       However, speaking after an event in Devon, Rishi Sunak ruled out a pact with Reform.

       The Prime Minister said: “There’s only going to be one of two people who is going to be prime minister on July 5. It’s either Keir Starmer or me – so a vote for anyone who isn’t a Conservative candidate is a vote to put Keir Starmer into Number 10.”

       Just two weeks ago, Mr Farage said he believed Mr Sunak would fail to win over the public regardless of any deal with Reform because of voters’ anger over the Tories’ record on immigration.

       He made the comments to Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg after the senior Conservative MP urged Mr Sunak to strike a general election deal with Reform, claiming a united Right would put victory “within reach”.