Reform UK's Zia Yusuf has condemned party members involved in an incident where a protester's hair was pulled during leader Nigel Farage's keynote speech. The event occurred at the party's conference in Birmingham on Friday afternoon, and footage of the altercation has been widely shared online.
West Midlands Police have appealed for the woman involved in the scuffle to come forward. "We haven't received a complaint but would ask the woman involved to come forward and contact us so we can carry out enquiries," a statement from the force said. Police are investigating the incident, which saw demonstrators removed from the conference hall on multiple occasions.
During Farage's speech, two women stood and displayed a banner reading "Reform works for billionaires." They were met with boos from the audience, and audience members were removed during three other disruptions throughout the day. Farage himself appeared to dismiss the disruptions during his speech, remarking on one protester, "that poor young girl, she looked like she was going to do herself an injury," before calling the interruption "boring, boring, boring."
Nigel Evans, Reform's home affairs spokesman, speaking at a fringe event on Saturday, stated, "On the question of whether I condemn people punching people, yes, I condemn people punching people." He added that no one should be violent. However, Nadine Dorries, a former Conservative minister who joined Reform, suggested protesters disrupting the conference should not expect "gentle treatment."
"I think what is also pretty shocking was they thought they could come into this conference and one by one try and derail Nigel Farage's speech," Dorries said. "Of course no one should be violent, no one should throw punches but… no one should come into this conference and try and disrupt it."
Reform chairman Lee Anderson, addressing the conference on Saturday, commented on the protesters, suggesting they needed to "get a job, get a life and get a shower." He also humorously offered a collection for a replacement walking stick for an attendee who was reportedly involved in an altercation with a protester.
The activist group Climate Resistance claimed responsibility for at least one protest during Farage's speech, stating they were "horrified at the violence" from Reform conference attendees. The group indicated that the protester involved in the physical altercation was considering reporting the incident to the police.
Demonstrations had also disrupted speeches earlier in the day. Deputy leader Richard Tice had a banner displayed during his speech that read, "Collect £5 million, burn the planet." The banner, which depicted Farage with a top hat and a bag of money, is believed to have been intended for his speech but appeared during Tice's due to a schedule delay.