Two arrested after Nigel Farage hit by 'milkshake' at Clacton election rally
Two people have been arrested after Nigel Farage had what appears to be a milkshake thrown over him on his way out of a Wetherspoon pub in Clacton during his first day of campaigning in the Essex town.
The incident happened a day after Farage made a surprise announcement that he was returning as Reform UK leader, replacing Richard Tice, and would run to become MP for Clacton, after previously insisting he wouldn't stand.
He had been speaking to reporters in the Moon and Starfish pub after his rally at Clacton Pier on Tuesday afternoon when he was attacked. Farage was seen with the drink, which appeared to be a creamy liquid, splattered over his suit as he boarded his campaign bus.
After the arrests, Essex Police said in a statement: “Officers have made two arrests after responding to a report a drink was thrown at a man in Clacton.“We were called to the area of Marine Parade East, Clacton, at around 2.10pm today (Tuesday 4 June).
"It was reported a man had a drink thrown over him as he left a premises in the area. A 25-year-old woman, from Clacton, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault.”
Commenting on the incident, Brendan Cox, husband of murdered MP Jo Cox and prevalent anti-extremism campaigner, tweeted: "Throwing things at politicians isn’t ok. No matter who they are."
Richard Tice, Nigel Farage’s predecessor as Reform UK leader, said: “The juvenile moron who threw a drink over Nigel has just gained us hundreds of thousands more votes. We will not be bullied or threatened off the campaign trail.”
Earlier, during the rally, Farage said the Tories deserved to be punished for their betrayal over Brexit. He said: “We made an offer to the British people, we could get back our independence and control of our borders.
“But what has happened? The Conservatives have betrayed that trust. They’ve opened up the borders to mass immigration like we’ve never seen before. And they deserve to pay a price for that, a big price for that.”
The veteran Eurosceptic said he would be a “bloody nuisance” in Westminster if he succeeds in becoming an MP at his eighth attempt.
He suggested a “chunk” of the Conservatives could join his party and compared the situation to Canadian politics, where Stephen Harper had been elected as a Reform MP but went on to head a “new Conservative” government.
Farage had previously suggested he could be open to talks with the Tories, but suggested he could not work with them in their current form.
Instead, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain his goal was to take the Conservative Party over, rather than join it.
“You can speculate as to what’ll happen in three-or-four-years’ time, all I will tell you is if Reform succeed in the way that I think they can, then a chunk of the Conservative Party will join us – it’s the other way around,” he said.
Farage's return to the political fray came as prime minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer prepared for their first televised showdown of the campaign at 9pm on Tuesday on ITV.
The Tories appear on course for a heavy defeat on 4 July, according to projections by pollsters, with YouGov suggesting they could be reduced to just 140 seats.
Home secretary James Cleverly told Sky News that the only poll that mattered was the one on election day, and sought to play down suggestions that Farage's decision to stand could take more votes away from the Conservatives.
“The last time I heard him make reference to Clacton, he was saying that he didn’t want to spend every Friday in Clacton,” Cleverly said.
“Reform has always been a vehicle for Nigel Farage's self-promotion, I think Richard Tice is now discovering that rather painfully.”
