Henry Bolton, the Ukip leader, last night revealed he had left his wife and the mother of two of his children for a model in her twenties.

The twice-married former army captain wrote to fellow party members, according to the Daily Mail, in which he came clean over the change in his relationship status.

Mr Bolton, 54, who took over the reigns of Ukip last September, confirmed he had started a relationship in recent weeks with model Jo Marney, a party member reportedly from Kent.

It follows an admission soon after becoming Ukip leader where the former policeman admitted the role had already put a strain on his relationship with his second wife, Russian-born Tatiana Smurova-Bolton, 42.

A series of photographs showing Mr Bolton and Ms Marney spending Christmas together have appeared on the 25-year-old's social media profile, including one of them cuddled up in a bar on Boxing Day.

In his message to party members, father-of-three Mr Bolton stressed there was nothing "clandestine" about their blossoming romance.

He said: "In recent weeks, I’ve had a change in my relationship status.