By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent
UKIP's general secretary has denied allegations he sexually harassed a high-profile candidate.
Roger Bird has been suspended after claims he sexually propositioned a newly recruited member on the same day he interviewed her as a prospective candidate.
Natasha Bolter - one of UKIP's most high-profile ethnic minority candidates - has now quit the party.
She pulled out of Tuesday's hustings in the target seat of South Basildon, where she was widely expected to be selected as the party's candidate.
A teacher who switched allegiance from Labour, Ms Bolter was applauded and cheered when she addressed UKIP's conference in Doncaster in September.
At the time she said: "We are an equal party, we have women at centre stage."
A spokesman for the party said: "Unfortunately, UKIP has had to suspend Mr Bird pending a full investigation into allegations made against him.
"The party has acted swiftly and decisively and will not tolerate impropriety of any kind amongst its staff."
Sky News understands that concerns about the selection process were first raised on 5 November, and an internal inquiry was launched the following day.
An initial report was produced on 11 November after an interview with Natasha Bolter.
It is understood that other people within the party contacted UKIP's chairman to express their unhappiness about the allegations during this period.
At an internal management meeting on 14 November, it was decided the claims were serious enough to bring in an independent HR consultant who was commissioned to look into the matter.
After interviews were conducted with Natasha Bolter, Roger Bird and other parties a draft report was seen by UKIP officials - including Nigel Farage - on Sunday, 7 December.
As a result, Roger Bird was suspended from the party.
A UKIP spokesman: "We don't think we could have acted any faster. We hope to complete the inquiry into Roger Bird as soon as possible."
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