A row has broken out over Nigel Farage’s claim that safety concerns prevent him from holding constituency surgeries, with Parliament’s security services disputing the suggestion.
Sources said the Reform UK leader was not told to shun in-person meetings in his Clacton seat – as he said was the case earlier on Thursday (September 19) – because this would interfere with his democratic duties.
There is no record of this advice having been given to the MP by either the Speaker’s Office or Parliament’s security team and neither have any recollection of such a conversation, the PA news agency understands.
Mr Farage has repeatedly been accused of not prioritising his Commons role, coming under fire for spending time in the US endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign following the July 4 election.