The Metropolitan Police have arrested a man in his 20s on suspicion of posting a social media message threatening to shoot Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. The arrest came after the parliamentary authorities reported the post to the police in May.
Arrest Details
On Tuesday 14 July, officers detained the man at a residential address in south London, with support from local Met officers. He was held in police custody overnight and has since been bailed pending further inquiries. The arrest relates to a social media post from earlier this year, which was reported to police on Friday 8 May. Detectives had submitted an application to the social media platform to obtain the user's contact information before making the arrest.
The Threatening Post
The post on X, made during the May elections, read: "I am going to shoot you in the head if you win." Farage told the Telegraph that this was the first time police had proactively acted on a social media post regarding him, and he hoped they would investigate the other three or four hundred similar posts from this year alone. He noted that threats have been ongoing for years, including videos of people firing guns, and previous reports had been dismissed as not meeting the threshold.
Context of Threats Against MPs
Farage has previously criticized the police for not taking death threats against MPs seriously enough and has called for increased security funding for politicians. The arrest follows the recent killing of Ann Widdecombe, a former MP and Reform UK spokesperson, with police exploring possible leftwing political motives. In the past, several individuals have been convicted for sending threats to kill or rape MPs, including Stella Creasy, Jess Asato, Jess Phillips, and Ed Miliband. Last year, an Afghan man who entered the UK on a small boat was found guilty of threatening to kill Farage in a TikTok video.
Reform UK Response
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, said there was an "overwhelming sense of fear amongst the Reform MPs" after Widdecombe’s killing. He noted some movement in state protection for Reform MPs, adding that threats are now being taken more seriously in light of new information.
