Katya Banks looked delighted to reach the pinnacle of British society as she strolled around the gardens at Buckingham Palace with her husband, the millionaire businessman Arron Banks.

Posing in a smart bronze jacket and matching hat, Katya seemed thrilled to be invited to the first of the Queen’s summer garden parties in May 2015.

Life for the Banks family was to get even better when Arron’s £8m donations to Leave causes helped secure the Brexit referendum result in June 2016.

Katya, 44, has since joined her husband on trips to Washington. Indeed, he was one of the first Britons to congratulate Donald Trump after his presidential triumph and was pictured alongside the billionaire in Trump Tower.

Now a Sunday Times investigation has uncovered the