Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been called a “coward” by furious MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions, after he was told to apologise by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Informing the house of an alleged death threat to Labour MP Natalie Fleet by a Reform UK deputy council leader, Sir Keir told Mr Farage to “stand up and apologise” for the remarks.
In response to the Prime Minister, the Reform UK leader did not issue an apology, instead probing the Prime Minister on the ongoing Chagos deal.
Sir Keir told the Chamber: “Mr Speaker, I also have to raise this. A death threat was shared by Reform’s deputy council leader in Lancashire against the brilliant member for Bolsover.
“It said she should be shot. When death threats were made against the member for Clacton, I stood at this despatch box and condemned them outright.
“If he has any decency or backbone, he will stand up, apologise, condemn the comments and sack the individual in his party.”
Mr Farage stood up and probed the Prime Minister on his Chagos deal, telling MPs: “Thank you, Mr Speaker. At the age of 14, Michel Mandarin was forcibly removed from his home, dumped on the quayside in Mauritius, forced to live on food scraps out of bins.
“He has resettled those islands and yet now faces a removal order from yet another Labour Government.
Keir Starmer demanded an apology from Nigel Farage after a Reform UK councillor sent an alleged death threat to a member of Parliament
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PARLIAMENT TV
“So maybe twice in one lifetime he’s going to be asked to leave his homeland. Can I ask the Prime Minister for a Government that is full of human rights lawyers, within and without, why do the opinions and human rights of indigenous Chagossians not matter to him at all?”
Enraged by a lack of apology by Mr Farage, Sir Keir accused the Reform UK leader of having “no decency or backbone” to address the alleged actions of the party member.
Sir Keir responded: “So he has neither the decency nor the backbone to condemn a death threat to a member of this House, whichever party they are in.
“He doesn’t have the decency or the backbone to condemn it and to sack the individual. And that just shows that his party has got nothing to offer the country but grievance and division.”
Mr Farage dodged the apology and instead probed the Prime Minister on the Chagos deal
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GB NEWS
Behind Sir Keir, outraged Labour ministers including Housing Secretary Steve Reed could be seen shouting “shame” and “coward” towards Mr Farage, following his response.
Following the fiery exchange, the Reform UK leader delivered an urgent question to the House of Commons, asking the Labour Government for an update on the deal and the Diego Garcia military base, “especially in the light of recent comments of the American President”.
Labour minister Hamish Falconer responded: “His Majesty’s Government’s objective has been and continues to be to secure the long term effective operation of the military base on Diego Garcia.
“It is a base critical for our national security, and helping to keep the British people safe. It is a key strategic military asset for both the United Kingdom and the United States.”
He added: “It has enabled our shared security for nearly 60 years. When we came into Government, it was clear that our ability to maintain our interest and control in the base was under threat. So this Government had to take action to protect our military advantage, and to stop our advisories gaining a hole in such a strategically important part of the world.”
Speaking to GB News following Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour MP Natalie Fleet said she was “absolutely devastated” by Mr Farage’s failure to apologise.
She said: “The Prime Minister calls him out at Prime Minister’s Questions, and what he is saying is that we don’t care. We only care about grooming victims, about women, and the violence that is perpetrated against them when it suits us politically.
“If one of our own says that you should die, you should be shot, because you want to do the best for your community, then he isn’t going to call that out.”
In a statement, deputy leader of Lancashire Council Simon Evans said: “Yesterday I shared a post featuring Natalie Fleet MP highlighting how she voted on the grooming gang inquiry. As many of you know, this is an issue close to my heart and something I’ve been campaigning on tirelessly even before I was elected.
“Unfortunately, what I did not notice was the accompanying text on the Facebook post that was created by an unknown user. As soon as this was pointed out, I immediately deleted the post. I would never intentionally call for or wish violence upon anyone, regardless of their political beliefs.
“This sort of rhetoric has absolutely no place in our politics. I would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Fleet and anyone else for the offence caused. This was a completely unintentional and genuine mistake that we can all make from time to time, especially on social media.”