Politicians who Stoke Division must Accept Responsibility

Yesterday Shabana Mahmoud offered Nigel Farage a meeting at the Home Office to discuss his personal security. This follows news that all seven Reform UK MPs have been given 24-hour protection after Ann Widdecombe’s murder.

Farage claims he previously turned down a state-funded security package, which included a trained bodyguard, car and driver because he believed it to be ‘inadequate’. He initially announced that the £5 million undeclared donation he accepted from crypto billionaire Christopher Harbourne in 2024 was to fund his own, superior personal security. He later changed his story about this, telling the Sun’s Harry Cole that the ‘gift’ was in fact a reward for campaigning for Brexit, before pivoting again in a series of increasingly tetchy interviews with various broadcast media outlets in which he screeched ‘I can spend it on what I want!’ and ‘it’s none of your business!’.

Unlike Farage, I’m not going to speculate on the circumstances surrounding Ann Widdecombe’s death. Mainly because both the counter-terrorism police and Ann’s family have asked us not to. But whatever the investigation may uncover, what is beyond doubt is that we have seen Reform UK attempt to cynically weaponize the incident for their own means, spending the 24 hours after the news broke reposting speculation then travelled to the site of the crime to lay flowers whilst being filmed. A highly placed source reportedly told the Mail on Sunday that Ms Widdecombe’s family were ‘very uneasy’ with Farage being at there. Like poor Henry Nowak’s father, whose wishes were also ignored by Farage, they stated that they did not want Ann’s murder ‘hijacked for political purposes’.

Image credit: Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve

Farage has repeatedly stated that he is the ‘most attacked politician in the country’. Jo Cox was shot in 2016 by a right-wing extremist shortly after Farage unveiled his controversial ‘breaking point’ poster as part of his Brexit campaigning (which critics said incited racial hatred and had echoes of Nazi propaganda). David Amess was also stabbed to death in 2021 by a terrorist. Labour MP Jess Phillips recently revealed whilst hosting an LBC radio show that she had to have state-funded security after Farage’s former ally, Elon Musk, tweeted misinformation about her role in investigating grooming gangs.

On Sunday, the Mail (historically supportive of Farage) ran a front-page piece about Reform UK MPs being given 24-hour protection. It seems obvious to me that Reform UK are attempting to use Widdecombe’s death to portray themselves as uniquely endangered. As I pointed out when I appeared on Sky News the same morning, those politicians who have ramped up the rhetoric and caused division within communities have to accept some responsibility for the fact that ALL MPs are, unfortunately, less safe than they were in decades prior. And, with the possible exception of Rupert Lowe, none are guiltier of this than Farage himself.

The Vote Leave campaign, of which Farage was a key driver and architect, was followed by a 25% increase in hate crime against those perceived as ‘immigrants’ across England and Wales. Violence against one of the right wing’s current targets - Muslims - accounts for half of all religiously motivated hate crime: There was a 43% increase in 2025 according to the charity Tell MOMA. The government’s own website says that this has been fuelled by ‘far right misinformation and domestic unrest’.

If there were any justice, Farage would be donate his £5 million to pay for security for every Muslim, Eastern European (who he recently claimed, without evidence, were stealing swans from national parks) and LGBTQ person in the UK. As it is, Reform’s victimhood narrative will, they hope, wipe the public’s memory clean during a time when both Farage and the party’s popularity are dwindling because of what scrutiny over their finances has revealed.