Kate Garraway had a tense clash with Reform MP Richard Tice on Good Morning Britain after questioning him about Nigel Farage.
Reform leader Farage won the Clacton-on-Sea by-election on Friday, receiving 66 per cent of the votes. The 62-year-old did not attend the results declaration in person, claiming Essex Police advised against it. He had said he would dodge the declaration after being alerted to an “organised campaign” to “disrupt and degrade the result”, insisting he refuses to be “demeaned and humiliated by nobodies”.
Police have since denied this, stating: "We have a proportionate and robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants in the count."
Clash on GMB
On Friday, Garraway and her co-host Ranvir Singh asked Reform deputy leader Tice to clear up confusion over Farage’s absence - which prompted Tice to snap: “Get a grip.”
Garraway said: “Nigel Farage did say that this decision had come after being contacted by Essex Police. So presumably, there was then a conversation with security advisers. What we've been told is that Essex Police didn't tell anybody not to go.”
Tice replied: "Seriously, I think you need to get a grip. I'm talking about Nigel's safety, security and remaining alive, and you're playing on minor words by different people who might be giving advice."
Reform UK's statement
Singh stepped in to point out that these "minor words" came from a Reform UK spokesperson who told reporters overnight that Essex Police had told them that Farage should stay away due to a credible threat.
She explained: "That's a very clear statement from Reform UK to a reporter overnight. We're just trying to clarify if that was the case."
Tice refused to answer the question and replied: "You're wasting this interview on a matter which is less relevant than the result. Honestly, I find it astonishing that you're questioning the judgment of our security team. I'll just repeat, Nigel has been given a resounding victory by the constituents of Clacton. The question is now, what does the standards commissioner do?"
Farage's victory and probe
He added: "Frankly, he will make whatever decision he does, but I think the constituents of Clacton would view it as completely ridiculous if this came back to them in a few months' time because the establishment wants another stitch-up."
Farage had said before his win: “I’m damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I’ve tried to fight for, and you’ve tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies, and I will not sadly be attending the count.”
He quit as an MP to fight a “people versus the establishment” by-election as he faced financial allegations surrounding a £5million donation and a parliamentary probe.
