Reform UK’s Welsh leader works for firm that helps foreign workers migrate to the UK

Martin Shipton

Reform UK’s leader in Wales works part time for an organisation that helps foreign migrants obtain visas to work in the UK, we can reveal.

Helen Jenner recently took over from Dan Thomas after he was arrested on suspicion of assault and coercive control. Nigel Farage said he was going through a “messy divorce”.

In August, Ms Jenner, a former teacher who represents Bangor Conwy Mon, added an entry to her register of interests at the Senedd stating that she earns between £2,501 and £5,000 a year by working less than five hours per week as a freelance English tutor with a company called Star English Ltd.

As leader of the Reform group at the Senedd, Ms Jenner’s annual salary is £124,713.

Her entry states that the work began on July 30 2026, adding: “The company is registered in England, and I tutor overseas students online. Therefore, it is my belief that this does not conflict with my duties in the Senedd or the Welsh education system. The role helps me to keep up to date with the teaching profession and the experiences of young people.”

Star English’s sole director is a Chinese national called Haifeng Zhu. The company’s website states that its average number of employees is one.

It also states that the company can sponsor visas into the UK through the skilled worker route, having had this power since May 2026. The company was formed in 2021.

The source who drew our attention to Ms Jenner’s association with the company stated: “As the company’s average number of employees is one, it is likely Helen Jenner is part of a select and small number of people employed by that company (e.g. averaging seven part-timers working five hours per week at most accords with the average employee entry).

“Why Helen Jenner and why now? What has changed with the company or Helen? I do not know about the latter. But we know that the company was recently given visa sponsorship powers.

“The company having visa sponsorship powers makes me think of Helen’s former political colleague and predecessor as Reform UK Wales leader Nathan Gill [now serving a ten-and-a-half-year prison sentence for taking Russian bribes], who was branded a hypocrite and criticised for arguing against immigration broadly, while also employing overseas workers in his family business care home.

“Could Helen be arguing against immigration broadly, while being paid by a company that sponsors work visas for people from overseas? Could she be somehow assisting in its visa sponsorship applications?

“If Helen wished to keep up with the teaching profession, could she not have done something in an established school in the UK, private or state, to gain insight into students actually living in the UK (outside of Wales if she felt a conflict of interest), rather than working with overseas students, some of whom may never visit the UK and others of whom may be trying to gain a UK work visa? Wouldn’t opting for such alternative additional employment have been even more insightful for a Welsh/UK politician interested in education and schooling compared to the part-time job that she actually has?

“How old are the students in Helen’s company if it is issuing work visas? Are they of school or A-level age, thus assisting insight into schooling? Or are they older/mature students?

Extra work

“Helen would seemingly be getting somewhere between £9 and £20 per hour for her work. It seems strange for a Senedd Member to seek extra work at these hourly rates – as their hourly rate for their Senedd work is likely substantially more. The company does not give insight into UK teaching or students, let alone those based in Wales. The age of the students may be older than school or college age. Both of these points militate strongly against the role giving insight into understanding young people of school or college age in the UK and teaching them.

“Do the operations of this organisation need to be realised as a UK limited company? If it is just teaching English online, couldn’t the organisation simply be based in China and have its bank transfer its local currency into British currency to pay its tutors?

“Was UK limited company status needed for this company to gain its visa sponsorship powers?

“These speculations are tentative. There is not a lot of information about the company online. Some websites suggest that the company offers GCSE or A-level teaching services to people studying for these UK qualifications overseas, which would accord to a degree with what Helen is declaring on the register.

“If this is the case, how did Helen end up being in touch with this company and being offered a job with them? A-level and GCSE teaching as private tuition is a big responsibility – or ought to be. Why would she do it for a seemingly low rate of pay (in comparison to that of a Senedd Member) and do it with the pressure of front-bench Senedd responsibilities – and now leadership – also on her shoulders?”

Political consistency

A Labour source said: “Reform has built its political reputation around campaigning to reduce immigration, restrict migration and put British workers first.

“This employment may be entirely permitted, but it creates an obvious question of political consistency – how does a Reform politician reconcile a personal financial interest connected to an overseas student market with a party whose stated policy is to reduce immigration and restrict migration for work?

“This isn’t the first time a Reform leader in Wales has faced such questions. Helen Jenner’s predecessor Nathan Gill, who is now in prison for taking Russian bribes, also faced criticism for his involvement in a company that relied on bringing in foreign workers.”

Ms Jenner was invited to comment, but did not do so.

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