Reform UK today unveiled a new Welsh leader following the arrest of Dan Thomas on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour.

Helen Jenner, Reform’s former deputy Welsh leader, will step up to fill the role vacated by Mr Thomas last week.

The married mother-of-two, a fluent Welsh speaker, was born in Neath and raised on Anglesey.

She was elected following a leadership vote among Reform’s 33 Senedd members on Monday morning.

Nigel Farage, Reform’s national leader, dismissed Mr Thomas’s arrest as a ‘bump in the road’ as he welcomed Ms Jenner to her new role.

She has been a member of all Mr Farage’s political parties since UKIP and stood for the Brexit Party in the 2019 Senedd election.

Mr Thomas’s arrest and resignation added to a turbulent time for Reform, with Mr Farage continuing to face questions about his party’s finances.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police are investigating after senior Reform figures were filmed appearing to discuss how to disguise donations from foreign sources.

Helen Jenner, Reform’s former deputy Welsh leader, will step up to fill the role vacated by Dan Thomas last week

Nigel Farage, Reform’s national leader, dismissed Mr Thomas’s arrest as a ‘bump in the road’ as he welcomed Ms Jenner to her new role.

Reform denies any wrongdoing and has said it will co-operate fully with the probe.

Mr Farage is separately the subject of an investigation by Parliament’s standards watchdog over a £5million gift he received from billionaire Christopher Harborne.

Meanwhile, Reform recently saw three more councillors quit the party to sit as independents on Durham County Council.

Mr Thomas’s resignation came on the same day as Senedd member Cooper-Lesadd quit the party to defect to Plaid Cymru.

Mr Farage on Monday paid tribute to Mr Thomas after he led Reform to become the second largest party in the Welsh Parliament at elections in May.

‘I am sorry for his personal difficulties that he is going through,’ Mr Farage said. ‘No one’s life is ever seamless and I am quite sure he will come out of these before too long.

‘But it was pretty much untenable for him to continue as leader while he had these domestic disputes going on, so we very quickly and rapidly have moved to electing a new leader.’

He added: ‘We will carry on as if nothing had happened, waiting for Dan who is going to stay a member of this place, to come back more actively with us.

‘There is an awful lot for us to do. We could have done without this bump in the road.  But it has happened, we are making the best of it and we’re now in the very capable hands of Helen.’

Ms Jenner said: ‘It’s not an ideal situation, in the sense that I didn’t expect Dan Thomas to stand down, we were a good team.

‘I was enjoying being deputy but it’s always a sense of duty, and I’m quite happy to have stepped up, it’s quite surreal.

‘I feel like everybody’s uniting behind me, and we can carry on and get a great job done.’

Mr Farage on Monday paid tribute to Mr Thomas after he led Reform to become the second largest in the Welsh Parliament at elections in May

Mr Thomas last week quit as Reform’s Welsh leader following his arrest on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour

Ms Jenner told BBC Wales there were a ‘few things’ Reform needed to change, including giving party members more of a say on policy.

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: ‘Just months after the Senedd election, Reform has already seen its leader resign and one of its members leave the party.

‘Alongside departures from its council groups in England, that raises serious questions about its stability and ability to deliver for the people it represents.

‘People across Wales are facing real challenges and deserve serious, stable political leadership focused on their priorities.’

Plaid Cymru MS Rebeca Phillips said: ‘Reform UK have no interest in making a difference in the lives of people in Wales, and whoever Farage has chosen to be his next Welsh puppet makes no difference to that fact.

‘While Reform UK in Wales try to appease their London bosses – Plaid Cymru is getting on with taking action on the priorities of the people of Wales, because we are answerable solely to the people of Wales, not Westminster.’

In a statement last week, Mr Thomas said: ‘It has been the honour of my life to have been the leader of Reform Wales and see this party go from zero to 34 elected members and become the largest opposition group in Welsh history.

‘With deep regret, I am now standing down from this position due to personal reasons.

‘Over the weekend, I was reported to the police and was released without charge.

‘I stress that I have done nothing wrong, but I do not want the coming headlines to be a distraction from the fantastic work our Senedd team is doing in holding this Government to account.

‘I will continue to serve my constituents in Casnewydd Islwyn and will fully back whoever the group selects as its next leader.’

Gwent Police said: ‘On Sunday 13 September a 45-year-old man, from the Aberbargoed area, was arrested on suspicion of assault and engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour. He has been bailed pending further enquiries.’