Man throws object at British right-wing leader Nigel Farage
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Mr Farage (left) was campaigning in an open-top bus when an object was thrown at him.
PHOTO, SCREENSHOT: EPA-EFE, X/@FREDDIMBLEBY
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LONDON - Mr Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain’s right-wing Reform Party, was assaulted on June 11 for the second time since he began campaigning for July’s election when a man hurled objects at him during an open-top bus tour.
Mr Farage was travelling through Barnsley in northern England, waving to crowds from the bus, when a man threw what appeared to be large pieces of broken stone at him, footage on social media showed.
The objects missed him and the politician appeared unharmed.
Police said they had arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of public order offences, adding that they believed he had thrown objects from a construction site.
“I’m not a softie - you can say what you bloomin’ like to me - but if you start chucking cement at me or chucking stones at me, it’s very, very different,” Mr Farage told Sky News.
He described the attack as “a wilful attempt to stop me taking part in this general election”.
As the figurehead of Euroscepticism and anti-immigrant sentiment, Mr Farage has been a divisive figure in Britain for decades.
He was best known for the leading role he played in encouraging people to vote in 2016 to leave the European Union.
He is standing for a parliamentary seat on July 4.
“I will not be bullied or cowed by a violent left-wing mob who hate our country,” he said on X.
Last week, a 25-year old woman was charged with assault
Mr Farage stepped up as Reform’s new leader last week, heaping pressure on the ruling Conservative Party,
He has long been a thorn in the side of the Conservatives, arguing they need to do more to cut immigration.
On June 4, a 25-year old woman threw a drink in Mr Farage’s face from close range as he left a pub.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
He has in the past made comments that his opponents have accused of being racist.
During the Brexit campaign, Mr Farage appeared in front of a poster showing lines of migrants under the slogan “Breaking Point”, while in May he said Muslims did not share British values.
He also regularly provoked the ire of many politicians in the European Parliament during his two decades as a lawmaker there. REUTERS
