Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says his party is in with a chance of winning seats in the South East of England at the general election.

At a campaign rally in Maidstone, Kent, he said the results in the region were “very hard to call”, but stated the party was “in play in a number of seats”.

Speaking to BBC South East, Mr Farage did not say which constituencies Reform UK were targeting in the region.

“I go round the country raising money, giving speeches, meeting candidates and generally being cheerful,” he said.

The former UKIP leader said he believed candidates in the South East would be elected with fewer than 30% of the vote due to divides in political opinions.

“A seat like Maidstone could be a four-way marginal,” he said.

“You’ve got quite a strong Labour vote, quite a strong Lib Dem vote, a Conservative vote that is nothing like it was and Reform on the up.

“That is why it is so difficult for anyone to predict it.”

Ian Gribbin, a Reform UK candidate in Bexhill and Battle, has apologised for claiming the country would be “far better” if it had “taken Hitler up on his offer of neutrality” instead of fighting the Nazis in World War Two.

In response, Mr Farage said: “We believe in free speech and we allow people with different opinions. But it’s not one I agree with in any way at all.”

He added: “This is a rush election, we are a start-up party – of course some of our people aren’t perfect.”