Farage: Second and third Covid lockdowns UK’s biggest peacetime mistake

Nigel Farage has described the decision to implement the second and third Covid lockdowns as the “biggest ever mistake” made by a British government in peacetime.

The Reform UK leader said he believed the restrictions imposed during the pandemic led to “long-term economic and psychological damage” and criticised the Tories and Labour for supporting them.

Mr Farage made the comments at an event in Sunderland, where around 1,000 people heard him speak, saying: “The Tories say we’re in economic trouble because of the pandemic.

“But hang on – you didn’t need to lock us down for a second and a third time. You didn’t need to take away our freedoms in a way that wasn’t even done during the Second Wold War, and all of it with Labour support.

“I actually believe the long-term economic and psychological damage from lockdowns two and three perhaps represents the biggest mistake any British government, supported by the opposition, has ever made in peacetime.”

The Reform leader said he regarded the second and third lockdowns with “contempt”.

Sunderland had some of the highest Covid rates in the UK at points in the pandemic, which meant the city often faced harsher restrictions than other parts of the country.

Several charities have spoken out about the ongoing impact lockdown measures have had on children and their development.

Earlier this year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned that global lockdown measures may wipe £700 billion off the world economy and stunt growth for decades.

Mr Farage also used the Sunderland event to introduce Sir John Hall, a former owner of Newcastle United, as a high-profile Reorm supporter.

Sir John, 91, donated £500,000 to the Tories during the 2017 election but told reporters he was a “disillusioned Conservative” who had been “let down” by the party in recent years.

He said: “I want to see my culture kept in this country and not destroyed and that is why I’m voting for Nigel. Nigel is the only one who is prepared to stand up for what I believe in, and I believe millions of other people would say the same.”