Farage gets a soft-soap question... from his own former adviser

Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf today gave a press conference promoting their new policy of using the Royal Navy to “intercept” small boats crossing the English Channel – but, as ever, the assembled press pack wanted to ask about other matters.

Farage in particular faced questions about the revelation that, contrary to his previous claims, he had struck a secret deal to return as party leader months before the general election, along with his opaque finances, Richard Tice being investigated by the parliamentary standards watchdog and a possible link-up with Rupert Lowe’s extreme right Restore Britain outfit.

Fortunately, one journalist was right on queue to ask the question the public was clamouring for! ‘Raheem Kassam, National Pulse’ was called on by Farage ahead of more established reporters present to throw a real curveball at the Reform leader.

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“I’m sure it wouldn’t have escaped your attention this morning that the first question you got was unrelated to the subject of the press conference and I wondered what were your thoughts on how the mainstream media has been treating you and those around you recently?” he said.

Ouch! Fortunately, ever the professional, Farage was prepared to meet it head-on.

“Look, I just feel that there’s been a one-sided pile-on against Reform,” he said. “I don’t think people’s family members would be… I don’t think Kemi Badenoch’s family members or Andy Burnham’s family members would be subject to the harassment and increased security risks that mine have been. I’ve only spoken about a very little part of this. I don’t think it would happen.

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“I think, you know, without appearing to be whingers, I do think we have come under a level of attack that would not be seen by another party if it was part of the establishment, which we’re not,” whinged Farage, the multimillionaire former public schoolboy, City trader and long-time Member of the European Parliament.

But who was this fearless hack? The little-known National Pulse is a right wing US news and analysis website focusing on populist politics and conservative commentary with a MAGA bent.

And editor Kassam is himself the co-founder of the London edition of the US far right news outlet Breitbart, the former global editor-in-chief of website Human Events and… former chief adviser to Nigel Farage! No wonder he felt safe pitching such a tough delivery to his former boss.