British counter terrorism police “made some mistakes” in the investigation of an alleged arson attack against Nigel Farage which is now thought potentially related to the killing of Reform UK spokesman and veteran conservative lawmaker Ann Widdecombe in a hammer attack, Farage has said.
Following the revelation that counter terror police have now re-opened the investigation into an attack on the home of Nigel Farage understood to have taken place in early 2025, Mr Farage said on Monday this development is “directly linked to the murder of Ann Widdecombe”. The Reform UK party leader said police had failed in the past in taking the security of himself and his party colleagues seriously, but he now believes officers have woken up to the threat and are now “seriously doing this job”.
Breitbart News reported on Saturday that police had started to re-investigate an incident at a London home of Mr Farage and that counter-terror police had referred themselves to the independent police watchdog over apparent failings in their initial investigation last year. Speaking about these developments at a press conference on Monday morning, Farage said he tried to keep his security concerns out of the public eye but confirmed there had been “arson and the attempted forcing of the door”.
Farage sardonically reflected that when he had first revealed this attack on himself, in the context of his needing money to privately fund security for himself after the government had declined to offer him protection, that: “Of course, most of the media organisations in this room called me a liar, I remember that vividly. Half of you in the room called me a liar”.
Of the investigation, Farage went on:
But the truth is there was an investigation into this and clearly Counter Terrorism made some mistakes. Which is why they referred themselves to the Independent Office of Police Complaints. I understand this is a completely unprecedented move, and yes this is directly linked to the murder of Ann Widdecombe, and I’m afraid I just can’t tell you any more than that at this stage.
It’s a great, great tragedy that it took the death of Ann for the security services in Britain to finally take seriously the safety and security of Reform politicians and Reform prominent figures. Up until that moment we had been treated very differently to everybody else. F0r example, four days after the murder of Charlie Kirk I had nearly all my security removed.
While police had previously “undervalued” the threat to Reform politicians, Farage said things were changing and he now has faith counter terrorism officers are alive to the risk posed to himself and his colleagues in the wake of the slaying of Ann Widdecombe. He went on: “I’m not going to say anything now to prejudice, because I do actually believe in my heart that Counter Terrorism are now seriously doing this job and I have confidence in them. I would love to tell you more, it will come out, but I just dare not breach that trust and confidence with Counter Terrorism at this stage.”
Suspected killer Joshua Kerry is presently being held by police pending trial on charges of the murder of Ann Widdecombe, allegedly with a political-terrorist motive.
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