Neil Hamilton is the new leader of the Welsh UKIP group after mounting a successful coup against the previous leader Nathan Gill. UKIP’s Welsh Assembly members voted 4-3 in Hamilton’s favour today – the disgraced former Tory had not been shy about his ambitions for the role. This is a blow to Nigel Farage, who is enemies with Hamilton and was firmly supporting Gill. He had taken the party from zero seats to seven in Wales so will feel hard done by that he’s been knifed by someone as unpalatable to the public as Hamilton. This is seen by Farage allies as the beginning of a move against him post-referendum…

UPDATE: Farage is furious:

“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.”