Nigel Farage's taxpayer-funded security detail has been slashed by three-quarters, Reform UK has claimed. The party's head of policy, Zia Yusuf, said parliamentary authorities had reduced the Reform leader's security protection "for inexplicable reasons".
Reform has accused Sir Keir Starmer's Labour of putting their politicians and activists at risk by describing Farage's immigration policy as racist. At the Labour conference in Liverpool this week, the Prime Minister and his colleagues repeatedly attacked Reform's plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain for immigrants legally in the UK.
Security cuts amid political tensions
Yusuf told Times Radio on Wednesday: "Two weeks ago, the authorities cut Nigel's security detail by 75%, and then we have seen the most extraordinary 48 hours of demonisation and, I'm going to say it again, incitement to violence, against the man who is the bookmakers' favourite to be the next prime minister." He added that the Parliamentary Security Department had decided to "materially downgrade Nigel Farage's security" for what he called "inexplicable reasons".
Sir Keir Starmer, in his conference speech, said Farage "doesn't like Britain" and accused him of resorting to "grievance". The Prime Minister later stressed he did not believe Farage or his supporters were racist, while predicting his immigration policy would "tear our country apart".
Private funding covers protection gap
Since Farage was told at the start of September that his round-the-clock government-funded protection would be slashed, Reform UK donors have stepped in to cover the drop in protection. The security arrangement is understood to cost more than £1 million per year.
All of the Clacton MP's security is now privately funded, after his team ruled that using both private and public providers would be unworkable. Yusuf said in a video posted to X: "Thankfully, we've had generous donors step in to shore up that security. So I can assure you, Nigel is safe and he is well protected."
Official response and previous disputes
A House of Commons spokesperson said: "Any assessment of an individual MP's security arrangements or advice is subject to a rigorous risk-based assessment, conducted by security professionals and with input from a range of professional authorities." They added that whilst arrangements are kept under continuous review, they do not comment on specific details to avoid compromising safety.
This marks another clash between Farage and Commons authorities. Last September, the Reform chief said he was advised by Parliament's security team not to hold in-person advice surgeries for constituents on security grounds, though he later rowed back on the comments after Parliament disputed the claims.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
