Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has reversed his decision to quit the party, saying “the mission is too important” and that he “cannot let people down”.

Instead, he said he will return in a new role, heading up an Elon Musk-inspired “UK DOGE” team.

In a statement, he said: “Over the last 24 hours I have received a huge number of lovely and heartfelt messages from people who have expressed their dismay at my resignation, urging me to reconsider.”

He added: “I know the mission is too important and I cannot let people down.

“So, I will be continuing my work with Reform, my commitment redoubled.”

Mr Yusuf said he would be returning in a new role, seemingly focusing on cuts and efficiency within government.

He said he would “fight for taxpayers”.

Only two days prior, Mr Yusuf dramatically handed in his resignation.

He claimed he no longer thought getting a Reform government elected was a “good use of my time” – but has now seemingly changed his mind.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed the news of Mr Yusuf’s return.

He said: “I am delighted that Zia Yusuf will head up Reform UK’s DOGE department.”

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Mr Yusuf’s initial decision to quit came after he publicly distanced himself from the party’s new MP, Sarah Pochin, when she asked Sir Keir Starmer about banning the burka at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Reform said a ban was not party policy – and the chairman called it a “dumb” thing to ask.

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What is DOGE?

DOGE is a meme-coin inspired creation of Musk’s, standing for the Department of Government Efficiency.

It is the latest right-wing US import into British politics.

Before his public fallout with Donald Trump, the tech billionaire said his focus was saving taxpayers’ money by locating wasteful spending within government and cutting it.

Read more: How Elon Musk’s mission to cut government spending fell flat

However, opposition politicians questioned the impact of his efforts and how much he actually saved.

Musk initially had ambitions to slash government spending by $2trn (£1.5trn) – but this was dramatically reduced to $1trn (£750bn) and then to just $150bn (£111bn).

A body has been found in the search for a missing Colombian woman from east London.

Yajaira Castro Mendez was reported missing to police on 31 May after she left her home in Ilford on the morning of 29 May.

A man known to her appeared in court on Friday charged with the 46-year-old’s murder.

Her body was found during searches in the Bolderwood area of Hampshire on Saturday.

Her family has been informed of the discovery, but formal identification has yet to be made.

Detective Inspector Jay Gregory, who is leading the investigation, said: “This is a very sad development in the investigation and are thoughts are very much with Yajaira’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.

“We continue to appeal to anyone with information that could assist the investigation to please come forward.”

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Police were in Gray’s Inn Road, Camden, on Friday as part of their investigation.

Ms Mendez’s disappearance was initially treated as a missing persons investigation.

At least four people have been killed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv after a series of Russian attacks.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described one of the attacks as a “savage killing”, saying dozens of people had been injured.

It comes after Kyiv embarrassed Moscow when it launched a daring drone raid deep inside Russia last weekend, destroying dozens of bombers.

Meanwhile, attempted US-led peace talks between the two appear to be floundering.

During the attacks on Saturday, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said: “Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack in the entire time of the full-scale war.”

The first wave of the Russian strike was a large drone-and-missile attack in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Nightly attacks from Moscow have become a routine part of the conflict.

At least three people died and 21 others were injured. There are reports that some people remain trapped underneath the rubble.

Then, in the afternoon, Russia dropped aerial bombs on the city centre, killing at least one person and wounding more.

Ukraine and Russia also accused one another of trying to sabotage a planned prisoner exchange.

Residents reckon with Russian strikes

As emergency workers fought fires at the attack sites in Kharkiv, residents had to deal with the fallout of strikes that could have claimed their lives.

Alina Belous tried to extinguish flames with buckets of water to rescue a young girl trapped inside a burning building, as she called out for help.

“We were trying to put it out ourselves with our buckets, together with our neighbours,” she said.

“Then the rescuers arrived and started helping us put out the fire, but there was smoke and they worried that we couldn’t stay there.

“When the ceiling started falling off, they took us out.”

Vadym Ihnachenko said he initially thought it was a neighbouring building going up in flames – not his own.

He was forced to flee after seeing smoke coming from his building’s roof.

Diplomatic efforts stall

Several other areas in Ukraine were also hit, including the regions of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and the city of Ternopil, Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiha said.

Russia acknowledged the attacks, but not the deaths, saying it had targeted military sites, while pictures show apartment blocks on fire.

Read more:
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The regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said children were among those injured in the first attack.

While a US-led diplomatic push for peace has led to two rounds of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine, they delivered no significant breakthroughs.

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Later on Saturday, Russia and Ukraine also accused each other of endangering plans to swap 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action.

This had been agreed during peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday.