Man arrested over threat to shoot Reform UK leader Nigel Farage

LONDON (AP) — A man who made a threat on social media to shoot Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage was arrested, police said on Wednesday, as concerns grow over the security of British politicians following the killing last week of former government minister Ann Widdecombe.

The man was held on Tuesday on suspicion of sending threatening communications to a member of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police said. He was held overnight and later released on bail.

“I am going to shoot you in the head if you win,” the man allegedly told Farage in a post on X in May, according to the Telegraph newspaper.

The July 8 killing of Widdecombe at her rural home in southwest England shocked the political establishment and the public. The 78-year-old, who was Reform’s immigration and justice spokesperson, was long known for her blunt-spoken socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

Farage said her death showed that “things have become even more dangerous” for people in public life and his party has called for better protection. Other Reform politicians have suggested their party members are at greater risk than other politicians.

Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a tribute to Widdecombe in the House of Commons, said it was “chilling” that three sitting or former MPs had been murdered during his 11 years in Parliament.

“We must do more to defend our democracy” Starmer said.

Security has been tightened in the past decade after Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was fatally shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed to death in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.

The alleged threat to Farage came during local and regional elections in May that saw his relatively new anti-immigration party win big and raise its hopes he could become prime minister after the next election, due in 2029. The poll results were so poor for the ruling Labour Party that its members forced Starmer to resign.

Police said the threat was reported May 8, but the arrest only came after they received information they requested from the social media company about the user’s identity.

Farage has recently been embroiled in a scandal over a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) donation he received from an overseas cryptocurrency billionaire that he said helped pay for his private security.

The Reform leader resigned his seat in Parliament this month but is seeking reelection to show he still has voters’ support. Opponents have criticized the move as a ploy to dodge a parliamentary probe.

The investigation into Widdecombe’s death is being handled by counterterror police. A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and terror crimes. He remains in custody but was not named because he has not been charged.

Devon and Cornwall Police have been criticized for originally saying the killing was not believed to be a terror-related crime and there was nothing to suggest it was politically motivated.

Widdecombe served in Parliament from 1987 to 2010, and was prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major’s 1990s Conservative government.

She later found fame as a contestant on the reality television shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother.”

She joined the Brexit Party, briefly serving as a member of the European Parliament before Britain left the European Union in 2020. She had recently joined Reform.

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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Brian Melley, The Associated Press