Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has been accused of hypocrisy after the party claimed rival politicians and the media had created a campaign tantamount to “incitement” against it.
The party’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf held a press conference on Wednesday to argue the “climate” in which Ann Widdecombe was murdered was that “Reform UK is a threat… to be urgently stopped”.
He hit out at the “narrative” around Reform, which he said was “a narrative so relentless it constitutes incitement”.
”Why are we targeted like this? Because we say things that are unfashionable among many in Westminster, but are popular in the country at large,” he added.
Mr Yusuf also cited a series of historic social media posts about Ann Widdecombe from Labour MPs, without providing context, adding: “Is it any wonder with such rhetoric relentlessly levelled at Reform that some may be moved to try to eliminate that supposed threat through lethal violence?”
But the Tories accused Mr Yusuf, who in May called Conservative and Labour politicians “traitors to their country” and warned “a reckoning is coming”, of being “all too happy to dish it out and not happy to take it”.
A spokesman added: “There is no party that is immune to criticism… It is ironic that Zia is the one saying it when he has accused Tory MPs of being traitors.”
“The murder of Ann Widdecombe is a tragic event and that should be our focus. But there is fundamentally an issue here where Reform is happy to hold themselves to a different standard to everyone else.”
The comments from Mr Yusuf “only serves people who seek to harm parliamentarians”, he added.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson said: “Let’s not forget that Reform politicians often use language to incite. If these thin-skinned politicians dish it out, they should learn to take it. After all, they often lecture others about free speech.”
At PMQs, Sir Keir Starmer said all parties “must do more to defend our democracy” following the murder.
“And I hope the whole House can unite behind that in the months ahead,” he told MPs.
Reform has stepped up its demands for greater security for MPs following a row over party leader Farage’s protection after he claimed that was the reason for a controversial £5m gift from a crypto-billionaire.
At the press conference Mr Yusuf called for much more to be spent on providing full security for all MPs who want it.
He later cited a tweet written by ex-minister Jess Phillips, while Ms Widdecombe was taking part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, where she said: “Ann Widdecombe better go this week. She is a little fascist beast.”
He also pointed to deputy prime minister David Lammy calling Miss Widdecombe a “bigot”, which he did on social media in 2019, and saying “we must stand up to them (bigots) before it’s too late”.
But Mr Yusuf faced questions over his own use of language, including his claim last week that the Tories were “open borders lunatics that deserve their extinction”.
Asked whether he would look at his own rhetoric, he claimed there was a “clear difference” between his words and what other parties had said.
“Likening Reform to the Nazis, likening Reform to the fascists, regimes that are clearly the most brutal and horrific in history and saying they pose an urgent threat that needs to be stopped, I think those are in different categories,” he said.
Mr Yusuf also appeared to suggest the £5m from donor Christopher Harborne was primarily intended to help Mr Farage pay for security after he leaves frontline politics.
Asked whether the cost of Reform’s policy of round-the-clock security for potentially all 650 MPs and some ex-MPs could far exceed the £100m estimate, Mr Yusuf said: “We’re going to put something out with the costings in there.
“I will say this, even if the cost is materially more, it is still important that we do this because the counter-argument to that is it is an acceptable risk that something like what happened to poor Ann happens again. And I will go to the wall on that point.”
Mr Farage, who has faced criticism for speculating about the motive for Miss Widdecombe’s death, was reportedly offered a security package similar to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch last year, including a bodyguard, car and trained driver, but turned it down after Reform deemed it a downgrade.
Mr Farage’s resignation as Clacton MP earlier this month paused an investigation by Parliament’s standards commissioner over the £5m gift.
A Conservative spokesman added: “Obviously, the murder of Ann Widdecombe is a tragic event, and that must be kept in mind. But there’s fundamentally an issue here where Reform is happy to hold themselves to a different standard to everyone else.”
They added: “Security for MPs should absolutely be discussed. But right now, the big concern of the Conservative Party is how we fund defence”.
