Farage shaken but far from stirred

A WOMAN was arrested yesterday after Nigel Farage was doused with a drink as he left a pub in Clacton.

- Michael Knowles

The Reform UK leader had just set out his plan to "realign" British politics to reporters at the Moon and Starfish when a McDonald's banana milkshake was thrown at him.

Mr Farage, 60, is standing as the Essex seaside town's Reform candidate in the General Election.

A 25-year-old woman from Clacton was detained on suspicion of assault, Essex Police said.

Mr Farage was led away surrounded by his security team and former party leader Richard Tice towards their election battle bus.

The woman, who gave her name as Victoria later reported to be model Victoria Thomas-Bowen told the BBC she had not come to the event to throw the drink but did so because Mr Farage "did not stand" for her.

The Reform leader later tried to make light of the incident, holding a tray of the fast food chain's milkshakes and saying: "My milkshake brings all the people to the rally." But he told ITV News it was "quite frightening" to be attacked on his first day of campaigning.

He added: "I don't know what was thrown but it hit me in the face, fair and square, quite frightening." It is not the first time Mr Farage has been the targeted with a milkshake. One was also thrown at the former MEP on a walkabout in Newcastle in 2019 as he campaigned for the Brexit Party.

Asked why he thought it had happened again, he said: "Because I go out and meet the public, nobody else does. What does Rishi do? He gets a room with two dozen councillors or whatever it is. Nobody goes out and does the old-style street campaigning the way that I do. And this is the risk that goes with it."

A visibly shaken Mr Farage was then asked if he had considered what would happen if it was something "more serious" than a milkshake. He said: "That's a very tough question to answer. I try not to." Mr Tice, meanwhile, insisted it had done their party a favour, saying: "The juvenile moron who threw a drink over Nigel has just gained us hundreds of thousands more votes.