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Police have made an arrest over a threat to shoot and kill Nigel Farage. The man was arrested in London yesterday after posting on X: “I am going to shoot you in the head if you win.” The threat comes after Ann Widdecombe was killed in a ‘targeted attack’ at her home. Mr Farage has repeatedly criticised his lack of formal protection and has described himself as the ‘most attacked politician in the country’. The former Reform UK MP for Clacton-on-Sea, who stepped down last week, said yesterday that he gets as many as 30 death threats per week. Shelagh Fogarty and LBC's Natasha Clark bring you the latest. #shelaghfogarty #nigelfarage #reform #news #uknews #ukpolitics #lbc
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0:00
Let's talk to Natasha Clark, LBC's political editor, about that story connected to Nigel Farage that I broke just five minutes or so ago
0:07
A man arrested on suspicion of sending threatening communications to an MP. Tell us more, Natasha, what do we know
0:13
Hi, Sheila. Yes, the Metropolitan Police have just in the last few minutes confirmed to us that they've arrested a man in his 20s for sending threatening communications
0:22
This, of course, all comes in the light of Nigel Farage talking quite a lot in the last few weeks about his security
0:29
Now, we understand that this does refer to a post that was made on social media ahead of the local election results
0:37
The force said in a statement just in the last few minutes that on Tuesday 14th of July
0:42
a man in his 20s has been arrested by Met officers on suspicion of sending threatening communications to a member of Parliament
0:50
They say that this was first reported to police on Friday the 8th of May
0:53
They say that detectives have submitted an application to a social media platform to gain access to the user's contact information
1:01
And that after that, detectives got that information. The man was arrested with support from local Met officers at a residential address in South London
1:12
They have been held in police custody overnight and has now been bailed pending further inquiries
1:17
That's the latest that we've got in from the Met. So they are telling us that on background that this relates to threatening content that was posted on social media
1:27
And at the time of the local elections, this post is alleged to have said, I'm going to shoot you in the head if you win
1:34
So that's the message that's being purported to be spoken about. And of course, Mr Farage has formally now resigned from Parliament
1:42
He was, of course, the MP for Clacton when that offence allegedly occurred
1:47
and we've also got a statement in the last few minutes from Mr Farage. He says this is the first time that the police have ever proactively acted on a social media post
1:57
I hope they are looking at the other three or four hundred similar posts from this year alone
2:03
He goes on to talk about the fact that he does believe that he is facing a high level of threats
2:07
He said this has been going on for years, not just words, but videos of people firing guns and so on
2:13
And in the past, we have put multiple reports into the police to be told that these social media posts don't meet the threshold
2:20
So he also then goes on to talk in the statement about the horrific death of Anne Whittakin, which, of course, we've been talking about on LBC all week
2:29
And it's in this light that obviously Nigel Farage and we heard from Zia Youssef, Reform's Shadow Home Secretary earlier today
2:36
talking about the threats that he believes reform politicians are facing. And of course the dangerous environment that he believes that Mr Farage the reform UK leader is attempting to lead the party in light of all of this And I don doubt that the case but it is not unique to Nigel Farage or the Reform Party
2:56
That's important to say. You know, I've mentioned a couple of times this week that I saw Penny Mordaunt talking
3:01
about 700 rape and death threats that she'd received. And I'm sure many of those will have been graphic in detail as that dreadful social
3:10
media post that you read there to Nigel Farage was and threatening in not just graphic but a
3:15
direct threat which is the key thing I think in in cases like that. On the subject of Anne
3:22
Whittacombe's death I mean you know we must let the investigation continue in the way that it is
3:26
but it was clear from Prime Minister's questions wasn't it that all parliamentarians are
3:34
are affected by this not just i don't mean for themselves although that may be a part of it
3:40
but you it hung over the whole of pmqs i felt did you yeah and of course nigel farage is no longer
3:46
um an mp now he's um he wasn't sitting in there to hear the debate and to hear keir starmer's final
3:52
pmqs but yeah this is absolutely something that affects all political parties and i don't think
3:57
that reform party are alone in in this and in talking about the threats that they face we have
4:02
been hearing from politicians for such a long time that they feel that the threats they face
4:06
are only getting bigger and things are only getting harder. I hear from female politicians
4:11
that it's particularly difficult for them. It's particularly difficult for politicians of colour
4:16
That it is a really hard situation to be in when you as an MP want to be out and about talking to
4:23
constituents, doing your job, talking to the media, talking to people about the work that you're doing
4:29
but obviously feeling in an environment where you feel potentially unsafe at points to do so
4:35
And like I say, this has been brought to the front with what's been happening with Anne Whittacombe and her murder
4:40
and sadly the news that things could have been politically motivated. The police are examining that as a possible line of inquiry at the moment
4:48
We must remember that we cannot divorce these two conversations that we're having and that we've been having on this topic
4:55
But it is absolutely something that is not just affecting reformed politicians, But Nigel Farage is clearly saying that he believes that the police haven't taken some of these malicious communications and these threats against him as seriously
5:07
We also had the report earlier this week that he reportedly turned down offers of security, saying that essentially he felt that it wouldn't be adequate for him
5:16
And that will, I think, obviously, you know, surprise some people because he's been talking for a long time about the fact that he doesn't feel that the government and the Home Office have been taking those threats against him as seriously as they should be
5:28
So very much a live debate happening in politics. You heard Reform earlier today say that if they win the general election they believe that all MPs should be offered 24 security That going to cost a lot of money and also opens up a wider question about whether that a society decision
5:44
that we should go down I've just been speaking the last few minutes to Lord Richard Homer the
5:48
Attorney General and he essentially said to me well you know that's not this kind of society that
5:53
I want to live in I think we need to address that as a society it feels like a bit of a sticking
5:58
plaster approach not really just addressing the root cause of that not to mention of course she
6:02
it's a lot of money to spend yes and i spoke to brendan cox yesterday um uh who you know whose
6:08
late wife joe cox was was murdered politically um it he he made the point that it's way beyond
6:17
mps this and and that this speaks to the point you've just made about it not being just something
6:21
you can put a sticking plaster on he said look we've seen examples of where a horrific stabbing
6:26
in belfast can lead to riots and political killing or not killings but political attacks
6:31
you know politically motivated attacks race racially motivated attacks on people living in their own homes being dragged out of their homes forced out of their homes
6:39
sorry what you know and and we should always say no to that kind of response shouldn't we to
6:46
somebody's political views or feelings about an event that happens however my feelings run high
6:51
all the time about things that I see but but you don't act on it and invite with violence against
6:58
somebody because you vehemently disagree with their views or think they've got completely the
7:02
wrong end of the stick on something or or or he he also alluded brendan cox to you know people who
7:08
aren't mps gathering to discuss something that they wish to discuss politically and being prevented
7:13
from doing so either by being cancelled because they're jewish or or forced out of an of an event
7:19
because they're women who want to discuss gender critical views that they share we've got all kinds
7:25
of examples in our own country at the moment where to to gather politically or to be political
7:30
is now becoming dangerous and we cannot stand for that can we we just can't yeah of course it's it's
7:37
i think you know in public life um on social media i think in politics we're becoming more
7:44
unfortunately more divided as a society that's what every mp i speak to and every cabinet minister
7:49
i speak to tells me that they they fear for the direction and the future of our political system
7:53
and they fear that things are getting worse and that the divisions in society..
7:59
And actually, Lord Homer said to me a few moments ago that he thinks that we're getting worse at listening
8:04
And I agree. I think we're getting, as a society, worse at being able to listen, tolerate, respond
8:10
and discuss others' points of view without it becoming out of control, dangerous, angry, frustrating
8:19
I think that's very true. And it's funny because I... Obviously our job is to listen isn it as well as to speak it to listen carefully too I always struck by how many people say to me either on social media or just even friends who listen or you know parents of friends who listen
8:34
whatever it is, who say to me, oh, I don't know how you keep your patience
8:38
with some of the people who call. And honestly, I can probably count on the fingers of two hands
8:43
the people who've exasperated me when in conversations on this programme where I do think, oh God, you know
8:50
just, and I'm sure there are people doing it the other end of the line as well with me sometimes but my sense of that is why would you
8:56
why would you be impatient just because somebody has a different view to you why would you want to
9:01
get them off just because they're saying things you don't like or you don't agree with it's it's
9:05
alien to me really um and yet for some people the idea that you can and it not completely ruin your
9:11
day is is a mystery to them which I find something's gone wrong there if that's how you think
9:17
about other people's views well Sheila you are truly in the right job aren't you where you can
9:21
listening to all of callers from across the political spectrum giving exactly and i think
9:26
that's the wonderful thing about both our jobs is that we get the privilege to be able to listen to
9:31
all sides of the debate and to have a healthy conversation and i think many politicians feel
9:36
that that debate is absolutely vital to a healthy democracy and it's upsetting and sad that that
9:41
seems to be in political life at threat but as you've just been talking about earlier on your show
9:47
a prime example of the fact that politicians can do it was that PMQ session that we had at lunchtime
9:52
wasn't it? Where I, you know, when I predicted wrongly that Kemi Badenow would do this and sort
9:57
of row in with a bit of a message of support and kind words for Keir Starmer, I genuinely wasn't
10:02
sure that she was going to do that. I didn't. It's not that I don't think she has it in her. I think
10:06
that it's just that she feels that her job as leader of the opposition is to constantly press
10:11
Keir Starmer. And she did do it. And there was a very nice moment of PMQs, of different political
10:17
parties coming together to say goodbye to sakir starmer and you know there is a we've we talk
10:22
about this all the time don't we whether pre-mqs as a as a topic works and whether it is a format
10:26
is is relevant for for today's day and age um but yes i thought it was an example of politicians
10:31
coming together across the political spectrum and paying really nice tributes to him and and
10:35
and vice versa really as well reminding us as that in the one of their exchanges it was they
10:42
they both recognize and we should always recognize with whoever we come into contact with
10:47
that the person you're talking to is is a person with a family and vulnerabilities and all of those
10:55
things and to lose that sense and go completely off the charts because you can't listen to what
11:03
they say is bizarre to me it's bizarre yeah i totally agree and yet there we have it it's partly
11:09
where we're headed isn't it and i wonder how we stem that tide great to talk to you natasha thank
11:13
you very much indeed Natasha Clark LBC's political editor
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