Farage backtracks on claim parliament's security team told him not to hold in-person meetings

Nigel Farage has backtracked on his claim parliament's security team advised him not to hold constituency surgeries over fears he could be stabbed.

The Reform UK leader said last month he had been advised not to hold the "old-style" physical meetings between MPs and constituents in his Clacton seat when asked if he was holding in-person surgeries on an LBC radio phone-in show.

He said he is not holding them over fears the public will "flow through the door with knives in their pockets".

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Mr Farage said the guidance had been given by the "Speaker's office", Sir Lindsay Hoyle's office, which helps MPs carry out their duties.

However, a source told Sky News at the time there was no record of that conversation and they would not give that advice as their role is to help provide measures so MPs can hold them safely.

That could include working with local police, the source said.

Asked on Monday who was lying, him or the Speaker's Office, Mr Farage said: "The Speaker's Office is always right."

A Reform UK spokesman said Mr Farage's most recent comment on the situation was "very clear".

Mr Farage's U-turn came after he was asked on 19 September whether he had an office in his constituency - and how many surgeries he had held there since being elected more than two months before.

"Do I have an office in Clacton? Yes. Am I allowing the public to flow through the door with their knives in their pockets? No, no I'm not," he replied.

Asked why the people of Clacton would want to flow through the door with knives in their pockets, he said: "Well they did in Southend. They murdered David Amess, and he was a far less controversial figure than me."

Conservative politician Sir David was fatally stabbed during a surgery in his Southend constituency in 2021 by an Islamic State-supporting terrorist.

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When Mr Farage first made the security comments, a House of Commons spokeswoman said: "The ability for MPs to perform their parliamentary duties safely, both on and off the estate, is fundamental to our democracy.

"The Parliamentary Security Department (PSD), working closely with the police, offer all MPs a range of security measures for those with offices or surgeries in their constituencies - helping to ensure a safe working environment.

"We do not comment on individual MPs' security arrangements or advice because we would not wish to compromise the safety of MPs, parliamentary staff or members of the public, but these are kept under continuous review."

During the election campaign this summer, Mr Farage had a milkshake and what appeared to be a coffee cup thrown at him in separate incidents.

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Victoria Thomas Bowen, 25, from Clacton-on-Sea, pleaded not guilty to charges of assault by beating and criminal damage after a milkshake was thrown at Mr Farage in Clacton. She will go on trial on 21 October.

Josh Greally, 28, was sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, for throwing objects at Mr Farage in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.