Calling for MP's shooting 'an honest mistake', says Reform

Last October Nigel Farage reacted to comments from Keir Starmer calling Reform’s immigration policies “racist” by hysterically accusing the prime minister of seeking to incite violence against him.

The Reform leader said Starmer’s comments “will incite and encourage the radical left” and claimed he had descended “into the gutter”, while his then head of policy, Zia Yusuf, claimed that if anything happened to Farage, Starmer would be responsible.

And deputy leader Richard Tice went even further, telling broadcasters how Starmer had “literally used the word ‘arms’, ‘take up arms and attack, go for the enemy’,” and “gave licence to Antifa yesterday to take up arms”, despite the fact that the prime minister had said no such thing.

Yet what happened when a Reform politician shared material literally calling for a politician to be shot? It was just an “honest mistake” and no action needs to be taken, apparently!

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Simon Evans, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, this week shared a Facebook post about Natalie Fleet, the MP for Bolsover in Derbyshire, containing a misattributed quote suggesting she had voted against having an inquiry into grooming gangs and saying “YOU DOZY COW……YOU SHOULD BE SHOT”.

Evans has since apologised, saying he “did not notice” the accompanying text, which was in capital letters at the top of the post. Reform also dismissed it, saying that sharing material calling for the murder of an MP was a “genuine mistake that we can all make from time to time”. The party said it had investigated and “considers it an honest mistake and will not be taking any action,” having accepted his version of events.

At Prime Minister’s Questions today Keir Starmer sought an apology from Farage, saying: “When death threats were made against the member for Clacton [Farage], 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. Will he do so?” Farage declined to do so.

So, say an immigration policy is racist and you’re encouraging people to take up arms. Actually say a politician “should be shot”, and it’s all a load of froth over nothing!