Among the most public-facing politicians, Nigel Farage has been the victim of unruly attacks on several occasions – from daylight eggings to thrown milkshakes and once finding himself trapped in a pub as aggressors closed in.
The Reform UK leader resigned from his post as MP for Clacton yesterday, citing an opportunity for “the people versus the establishment” amid a parliamentary probe into party finances.
Among the controversy lies a £5million donation from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Chris Harborne, which Mr Farage told journalists was to go toward lifetime security.
He described the importance of his personal security and claimed he will need protection “until the day that I die”.
He earlier declared he has “never been angrier” after one of his daughter’s safety was “intimidated” by the mainstream media.
The Times newspaper published a picture of his daughter’s home, with Mr Farage claiming there was no public interest in his daughter or any other family member being “harangued” by reporters.
He said: “I will not tolerate intimidation of my family. I will not tolerate the location of where they live being revealed. I will not tolerate any of my family being endangered because of what I choose to do in public life. So yes, you can ask, am I angry? I’ve never been angrier in my life.”
Speaking yesterday, Mr Farage claimed he was “subject to constant demonisation by the press for daring to be outside the consensual view on many issues”, adding: I’ve been attacked again and again, and I am the most physically and verbally attacked public figure or politician of modern times.”
GB News looks back at five times Mr Farage was threatened in public:
Milkshaking on Clacton seafront
A milkshake was thrown at the Reform UK leader by Victoria Thomas Bowen in 2024
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PA
One incident the outgoing MP experienced saw a woman launch a McDonald’s milkshake over him during the general election campaign in 2024.
Victoria Thomas Bowen hurled the drink at Mr Farage as he left a JD Wetherspoon pub on Clacton seafront on June 4 that year, having just launched his candidacy for the Essex constituency.
Ms Thomas Bowen admitted assault by beating and criminal damage during the trial.
She was handed a 13-week jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was obliged to pay the MP £150 compensation, complete 120 hours of unpaid work and pay £450 in court costs.
Coffee cup thrown at open top bus
Objects were thrown at Nigel Farage in Barnsley
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PA
Another incident that year saw a man throw a coffee cup and another object at the politician, who was making a speech from the top deck of an open-top bus.
Mr Farage was standing at the top of the stairs on the vehicle, along with Reform UK supporters and journalists, when objects were volleyed in his direction.
Josh Greally, 28, was sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Barnsley Magistrates’ Court after throwing items at the Reform UK leader who was campaigning in the South Yorkshire town.
Greally, of Clowne, Derbyshire, was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation activity days, and pay £85 court costs and a surcharge of £154.
Milkshake thrown during Newcastle trip
Nigel Farage was drenched in milkshake as Brexit Party leader
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GETTY
Back in 2019, when he was leader of Reform UK’s original variant The Brexit Party, a man threw a Five Guys milkshake over Mr Farage in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, receiving a 12 month community order, plus 150 hours unpaid work.
Paul Crowther was also ordered to pay the politician £350 in compensation to cover the cost of cleaning of the suit and damage to a lapel microphone.
The attacker told journalists at the scene the act was “a right of protest against people like him; the bile and racism he spouts out in this country is far more damaging than a bit of milkshake to his front”.
Edinburgh pub incident
Protesters surrounded Nigel Farage outside a pub
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GETTY
Mr Farage was also once confined to an Edinburgh pub in 2013, as dozens of protesters forced him out of the city.
The then-Ukip leader was whisked away in a police riot van under a tirade of abuse from a crowd of about 50 young demonstrators, made up of students, campaigners and activists, and was forced out of the Canon’s Gait pub on the Royal Mile after the landlord took fright at shouts of “racist”, “scum” and “homophobe”.
Upon his resignation as MP for Clacton, Mr Farage also cited an incident he claimed had never previously been covered in the press, involving a mob who “surrounded the car, banging on the bonnet and the windscreen, kicking the side of the doors” outside the pub.
He claimed the car was written off, but he “didn’t even bother with an insurance claim” as he wanted to do everything he could “not to make it public”.
He added incidents have got worse over the last year, with an attack on his home “similar to the one that the Prime Minister (Sir Keir Starmer) suffered”.
Nottingham egging
Nigel Farage had a single egg thrown at him in Nottingham
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An egg was thrown at Mr Farage at Wheeler Gate, Nottingham, while he was campaigning for Ukip in May 2014.
He was quickly hurried into his chauffeur-driven car, abandoning a planned walkabout in the East Midlands city.
Nottingham Magistrates’ Court heard how Mr Farage was shocked by the assault but suffered no pain or discomfort.
Frederick Glenister, 33, pleaded guilty to a charge of common assault.
Louise Wright, defending, said Mr Glenister had not planned to carry out the assault and had been in the town centre by coincidence.
She told the court: “Mr Glenister was going about his business and saw supporters and that they were for Ukip…Mr Glenister is a man of conviction and who stands for his convictions.”
