THE leader of the Welsh Assembly’s newest political group has accused first minister Mark Drakeford of ‘thinking he knows better than the people of Wales’.

Last week South Wales East AM Mark Reckless was one of four ex-Ukip AMs to join Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party.

They were formally recognised as a new Assembly group earlier this week and, on Tuesday, Mr Reckless, appointed as the group's leader, had his first opportunity to quiz Mark Drakeford during First Minister's Questions.

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And he wasted no time in aiming his crosshairs at Mr Drakeford, saying: “The first minister thinks that he knows better than the people of Wales.

“I have consistently backed Brexit. Unfortunately, every party said that they were going to respect the result of the referendum. Unfortunately, you are doing anything but.

“You claim that you have always respected the result, but you haven't.”

But the first minister hit back, saying: “It's a pantomime turn that we're offered, but the trouble is (Mr Reckless) is a lot more than a pantomime villain, and the prospectus that he offers people in Wales would, without a shadow of a doubt, lead people in Wales to be worse off in future.”

And he pointed to Mr Reckless’ record of switching parties multiple times, saying: “This sort of peripatetic approach to politics is not one that I think leaves him in any position to ask others in this chamber questions about respecting democratic mandates."

Mr Reckless was elected as a Ukip AM in 2016, but left to join the Assembly’s Conservative group in April 2017, only to leave that group earlier this month to join The Brexit Party. He also, while MP for Rochester and Strood, triggered a by-election when he left the Conservatives to join Ukip in 2014.

The first minister added: "The Welsh Government has always respected the result of the referendum.

"We have always recognised the way in which people in Wales have voted, and we've been focused, as we've said so many times, on the form rather than the fact of Brexit."

The other three members of the Assembly’s new Brexit Party group are South Wales East AM David Rowlands, South Wales West’s Caroline Jones and North Wales’ Mandy Jones.

In the 2016 referendum 52.5 per cent of voters in Wales voted to leave the EU.