Nigel Farage‘s ‘irresponsible’ response to Britain’s riots means he is not welcome in the Conservative Party, a Tory leadership candidate has declared.
Mel Stride, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said Mr Farage was ‘wrong to fuel the fires of rumour’ in the wake of last week’s Southport stabbing attack.
He vowed, if he were to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader, that there would be ‘no place’ for Mr Farage and ruled out any deals with his Reform UK party.
Mr Farage faced a fierce backlash for his remarks immediately after last Monday’s attack in Southport, which left three girls dead.
He suggested the facts of the incident were being withheld from the public and referred to claims the alleged attacker was known to security services.
The Reform leader has since admitted he was referring to posts made by ‘prominent folks with a big following’, such as controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate.
Mr Farage has also made claims of ‘two-tier policing’ and suggested the ongoing riots have been dealt with more harshly than the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
Mel Stride , the shadow work and pensions secretary, said Nigel Farage was ‘wrong to fuel the fires of rumour’ in the wake of last week’s Southport stabbing attack
Mr Farage faced a fierce backlash for his remarks immediately after last Monday’s attack in Southport, which left three girls dead
The Reform leader has since admitted he was referring to posts made by ‘prominent folks with a big following’, such as controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate
Mr Stride said there would no place for Mr Farage if he was elected Tory leader but added he hoped to ‘unite’ the Conservatives and rebuild trust with voters who backed Reform at the general election.
‘Mr Farage’s comments against a backdrop of the worst public order offences the UK has witnessed for many years will inevitably have been seen as hugely unhelpful by right thinking people in what is a volatile situation,’ he said.
‘In making these statements he has linked the violence to community division resulting from immigration.
‘He is irresponsible and wrong to fuel the fires of rumour and in doing so, can only further damage social cohesion.
‘As leader I will reunite and rebuild trust in the Conservative Party amongst those who voted Reform at the general election.
‘Their concerns need to be fully respected and properly addressed. Under my leadership we will do just that.
‘Some have suggested that a deal should be done with Mr Farage as part of that process.
‘That will not happen under my leadership and there will be no place for him or Reform at the Conservative table.’
In a video posted on July 30, the day after the Southport attack, Mr Farage said there had been ‘reports’ that the suspect was being monitored by the security services.
Referring to the police description of the attack as a non-terror incident, he added: ‘I just wonder whether the truth is being withheld from us. I don’t know the answer to that. I think it’s a fair and legitimate question.’
Speaking to LBC yesterday, Mr Farage declined to apologise for his comments, saying the disorder following the Southport attack had been so bad because ‘we weren’t told the truth’.
He said his comments about the security services had been referring to posts by ‘prominent folks with a big following’, such as Tate falsely claiming the suspect had arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in a small boat in 2016.
Tate, a former kickboxer, has risen to prominence as an influencer and is awaiting trial in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
The 37-year-old has previously boasted of being ‘absolutely sexist’ and ‘absolutely a misogynist’.
Mr Farage told LBC: ‘There were some stories online from prominent folks with a big following, Andrew Tate etc, suggesting that the man had crossed the English Channel in a boat in October 2023.’
He added: ‘I asked a very simple question, was this person known or not.’
Asked whether he had fallen for false claims online, Mr Farage went on: ‘I didn’t believe any of it, I hadn’t got a clue.’
The teenager who has been charged in connection with the Southport attack, Axel Rudakubana, was born in Wales to Rwandan parents in 2006.
Police confirmed he was born in Cardiff in a statement on July 29, the day of the attack, but could not release his name for legal reasons until a judge lifted his anonymity.
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