Nigel Farage has U-turned on his claim that parliament officials had advised him not to have in-person constituency surgeries for security reasons.
The Reform UK leader told LBC last month that Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle’s office and the parliamentary security team had warned him about the potential threat to his personal safety.
“So we’re not in a fit state to do the old-style surgeries, but do you know what, if you’ve got something to say to me as a Clacton resident, Zoom is not the end of the world,” he said.
However, neither the speaker’s office or the security team have any record of issuing such advice.
At a press conference on Monday, Farage was asked: “Which one of you is lying?”
He replied: “The speaker’s office is always right.”
Farage’s climbdown comes just two months after he admitted spreading misinformation from Andrew Tate about the Southport killings.
The Clacton MP posted a video online speculating on the background of the alleged killer of three young girls shortly after the knife attack took place in July.
He said “some reports suggest he was known to the security services” – claims now known to be false.
The online rumours led to violent scenes at a vigil for the three children, which then sparked days of riots across England and Northern Ireland.
Appearing on LBC in August, Farage defended his actions by insisting he was only trying to find out “the truth”.
He said: “There were stories online from some very prominent folks with big followings – Andrew Tate etc – suggesting the man had crossed the English Channel in a boat in October 2023. Other suggestions that he was an active Muslim, and much of this led to the riots that we saw.
“I asked a very simple question – was this person known or not.”
The name of the alleged killer was initially withheld because he was under 18, but he was later identified as Axel Rudakubana after Judge Andrew Menary KC lifted the reporting restrictions.
