Neil Hamilton, whose career was in ruins after one of the major post-war political scandals, has made a dramatic comeback by defeating Ukip Wales leader Nathan Gill to become leader of the party’s National Assembly group.

The first consequence of Mr Hamilton’s victory by four votes to three has seen the party campaign team that masterminded the election of seven AMs told their services are no longer required.

Mr Hamilton, a regional AM for Mid and West Wales, defeated Mr Gill, elected as an AM for North Wales, by four votes to three.

Mr Hamilton was backed by North Wales AM Michelle Brown, South Wales Central AM Gareth Bennett and South Wales West AM Caroline Jones, while Mr Gill had the support of the two South Wales East AMs, Mark Reckless and David Rowlands.

Ukip's UK leader Nigel Farage attacked the party's AMs for their decision.

He described the decision to choose Mr Hamilton over the party's Wales leader Nathan Gill as "unjust and an act of deep ingratitude".

He said: "I have worked closely with Nathan Gill as leader of Ukip Wales. I have always found him to be hard-working, honest, and loyal.

"His removal after a successful Welsh Assembly election campaign is unjust and an act of deep ingratitude. In behaving like this, Ukip looks too like the other parties that we have fought so hard against."

(Image: Rob Browne)

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As Ukip group leader, Mr Hamilton will gain an extra £20,000 a year to take his salary to £84,000 and he will have control of a publicly-funded group budget of around £200,000.

In addition, each of the seven Ukip AMs is entitled to employ three full-time members of staff.

Llyr Powell, a senior member of Ukip Wales’ national campaign team, said: “Six of us have been told we won’t be employed in future because we are Farage loyalists. A new team will be brought in.

“During the campaign Mr Hamilton has been accompanied by Robin Hunter-Clarke, a councillor from Skegness in Lincolnshire.

"He was with him in the Senedd on Saturday, and there is speculation that he will be appointed as the Ukip group’s chief of staff.”

Mr Gill had assumed he had the support of Caroline Jones, but on the day she voted for Neil Hamilton.

He told us: “Caroline Jones led me to believe all along that she would vote for me, but on the day voted for Neil Hamilton.

"I don’t know why – that’s a matter between her and her branches. I’d like to thank Mark Reckless and David Rowlands for voting for me.

“Ever since Neil Hamilton came to Wales there have been two camps. I have done my best to build up support for the party in Wales. It’s a question of getting credibility and trust.

"I think the vast majority of Ukip members and voters in Wales are supporters of Negel Farage and think they won’t be happy about what has happened.

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“I think it’s disgraceful that the campaign team who put in so many hours have been treated so badly. To take us from zero AMs to seven AMs is an amazing achievement and it makes no sense to get rid of the team that engineered such a victory – the best domestic election result Ukip has ever achieved. To get rid of them because they are loyal to Nigel and to me smacks of vindictiveness.

“No doubt Neil Hamilton knows exactly what he wants and who he wants in the various jobs.”

Announcing his victory, Mr Hamilton told reporters: “We’ve achieved an outcome by consensus.

“We decided to put all past differences behind us and forget the lead up to the election campaign, where there was a lot of personal animosity created.

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“I’ve been chosen to do a specific job to be leader of the Ukip AMs within the Assembly. I’ve got great deal of parliamentary experience. I’ve been a government minister.

"I’m going to make use of that experience within the group to give Ukip the maximum amount of impact during the course of the next five years.”

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