Reform UK has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “inciting violence” against Nigel Farage in his speech to the Labour Party conference on Tuesday, and said the prime minister will be “responsible” if anything happens to him.
Speaking to Sky News Breakfast, the party’s policy chief said the prime minister “knows he cannot beat Nigel at the ballot box”, so has instead tried to “demonise him”.
Sir Keir has denied the accusation that he risked inciting violence or inflaming tensions with his speech.
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The accusation comes after Sir Keir warned that the next four years will be “a fight for the soul of our country” against Reform UK in his keynote speech setting out his vision of “national renewal” for Britain.
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s head of policy, told presenter Wilfred Frost that over the last two days, the prime minister has “embarked on a campaign with his cabinet to incite violence” against Mr Farage.
Pulling out specific quotes from Sir Keir’s hour-long speech to his party conference, Yusuf said: “The prime minister knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows he cannot beat Nigel at the ballot box. We’ve seen the most extraordinary campaign over 48 hours to demonise Nigel, and he is absolutely inciting violence against him.”
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He went on to say that there are “millions of people in this country who, if anything was to happen to Nigel Farage, will hold the prime minister squarely responsible for his actions”.
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Sir Keir was asked about the claim of inciting violence, and if he risked inflaming tensions with his speech in an interview with GB News, and he replied: “No, not at all.”
More broadly, senior cabinet minister Pat McFadden told Frost earlier: “I think a lot of Reform’s protesting about this is because what they don’t want to talk about is the policy they announced last week.”
That was in reference to Reform UK’s pledge to end indefinite leave to remain, which could see legal immigrants to Britain deported because they do not meet new requirements the party proposes to bring in.
Mr McFadden described the policy proposal as “deeply un-British” and “a mistake” from the party.
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PM calls on party to ‘fight Reform’
In his interview with Sky News, Mr Yusuf highlighted a number of sections of Sir Keir’s conference speech on Tuesday.
Sir Keir called for his party to “fight Reform with everything that this movement has”, and said that he himself will “fight with every breath I have, fight for working people, fight for the tolerant, decent, respectful Britain that I know”.
The prime minister also said the country must “go into that battle armed, not just with words and condemnation, but with action”.
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And on Reform UK’s pledge to end indefinite leave to remain and deport “people who’ve lived here for generations”, Sir Keir said: “If you say they should now be deported, then mark my words – we will fight you with everything we have because you are the enemy of national renewal.”
Read more:
Indefinite leave to remain: What is it and what do Reform and Labour say about it?
He also described “the politics of grievance”, which he attributed to Reform UK and Mr Farage, as “the biggest threat we face because it attacks who we are”.
“Using that language,” Mr Yusuf said, “He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
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Farage’s ‘security detail cut’
Mr Yusuf also claimed that “the authorities cut the size of Nigel’s security by 75%” two weeks ago, which he said occurred around the time of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and party donors had “stepped in to ensure, thankfully, that Nigel is well protected”.
Mr Farage told the BBC in September last year that he was given a close protection detail by the state following the summer riots, which he said was “when so many commentators tried to put the blame on me”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Decisions on MP security are made independently of ministers.”
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A spokesperson for the House of Commons has declined to comment on the claim that Mr Farage’s security detail has been cut, saying in a statement: “The ability of members and their staff to perform their parliamentary duties safely, both on and off the estate, is fundamental to our democracy.
“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.
“Whilst these are naturally kept under continuous review, we do not comment on specific details so as not to compromise the safety of MPs, parliamentary staff or members of the public.”
The Metropolitan Police, the Labour Party, and Downing Street have been contacted for comment.
