A man in his 20s has been arrested in London on suspicion of sending threatening communications to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. The arrest, made on Tuesday, followed an online post on X warning Farage, "I am going to shoot you in the head if you win." The suspect reportedly described himself as a terrorist on social media.
The incident occurred just days after former MP and Reform spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe was found dead in her Dartmoor bungalow in what is being investigated as a 'targeted attack.' The post threatening Farage was made on May 8, the day of the local elections, but the suspect was only arrested nearly two months later.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police informed Farage of the arrest. The suspect has since been released on bail pending further inquiries. A spokesperson for the Met Police confirmed that the arrest related to a social media post reported on May 8, and that detectives obtained user contact information from the platform before making the arrest at a residential address in south London.
Reform UK has compiled a dossier indicating that Farage receives approximately 30 death threats per week. The party stated it has recorded 1,577 threats against him since February, including 597 death threats. The party believes multiple threats come from individuals fixated on the idea of harming him.
Farage stated that this is the first time police have proactively acted on a social media threat and expressed hope that similar posts would be investigated. The post in question was reported by the Parliament’s security information and risk analysis service to Scotland Yard.
This development has amplified concerns about the safety of politicians. Reform UK's home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, has called for an increase in the budget for MPs' safety to £100 million, including providing a bodyguard for each parliamentarian.
Last year, Afghan migrant Fayaz Khan was jailed for five years for making a threat to kill Farage. Khan had a tattoo of an AK-47 on his left cheek.
Farage has publicly questioned initial reports about Ann Widdecombe's death. He claimed that both Keir Starmer and the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police initially suggested her death resulted from a 'burglary gone wrong.' Farage stated he disagreed, believing it was a premeditated murder, a stance that initially drew criticism but has since been supported by the ongoing investigation by counter-terrorism police. A 28-year-old man has been arrested in connection with Widdecombe's death.