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Mr Banks is a co-founder of the Leave.EU group
An application to join the Conservative Party by Leave.EU co-founder and former UKIP donor Arron Banks has been turned down, the Tories have said.
Mr Banks and the pro-Brexit group's communications director, Andy Wigmore, both announced on social media that they were joining the party.
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The pair said they had received a confirmation email welcoming them.
But a Conservative Party spokesperson later said their "applications for membership... have not been approved".
Earlier this week Mr Banks called on supporters of his pro-Brexit Leave.EU group to join the Conservative Party so they can vote in the party's next leadership election.