UKIP has put the response to the Manchester terrorist atrocity at the centre of its General Election manifesto launch, promising measures to reduce immigration and tighten national security.

Paul Nuttall, the party leader, launching Ukip’s programme for government in London, called Islamic fundamentalism "one of the major issues" facing politicians in the coming years and said it was "not the British way to turn a blind eye to this evil in our midst".

Ukip's policy pitch pledged to fund the recruitment of 20,000 extra police officers, 20,000 new soldiers, 7,000 more prison officers and 4,000 border guards.

It restated the previously announced plan to ban face coverings such as the burka and impose a "one in, one out" system to curb net migration to zero.

The party also promised to:

*create an extra £11 billion a year for the NHS and social care by the end of the next parliament, funded by cuts in foreign aid;

*not raise taxes;

*scrap VAT on takeaways like fish and chips;

*end the HS2 rail “vanity project” project;

*abolish the “unfair” Barnett Formula and replace it with a fairer one based on need;

*reduce foreign aid spending to 0.2 per cent of gross national income to fund public spending;

*create a federal UK with an English Parliament and abolish the House of Lords, where the new body would sit;

*introduce Proportional Representation;

*ensure the Brexit negotiations are completed by the end of 2019 with a guarantee of no EU divorce payment;

*create a new public holiday on June 23 to mark “Independence Day” from the EU;

*allow women to retire at 60;

*abolish the TV licence fee and

*retain Britain's nuclear deterrent.

The party has seen its poll ratings suffer since Brexit and it took a hammering at the local elections earlier this month in a sign that voters might consider its stance on the European Union to be less relevant since the referendum.

The manifesto sets out six key tests which would need to be passed to ensure Britain was "free of the EU", including supremacy of the UK Parliament on laws, migration, fishing and trade.

Mr Nuttall, writing in his foreword to the manifesto, declared: "We are the country's insurance policy, the guard dogs of Brexit. We have fought for Brexit all our political lives and we want to ensure that the people get the kind of Brexit they voted for on June 23 last year."