Nigel Farage has “not been listened to” over his safety concerns, Richard Tice has said after the man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe was also charged with a terror plot against the Reform leader, reports BritPanorama.
Joshua Kerry, 28, has been charged with one count of preparation of terrorist acts relating to alleged activity between May 31, 2024, and July 8, 2026, Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) said on Friday.
Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, remarked that the allegations are “particularly upsetting for those of us in and around (Mr Farage)” and that they would prompt politicians to take potential threats more seriously.
Widdecombe, 78, died on July 8 after being hit over the head with a hammer 21 times at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon, a court previously heard.
Kerry, of Byrley Road, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is also accused of her murder and is scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
While speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Tice expressed that “when actually things occur that are very close to home, so to speak, it’s pretty shocking and makes one take a big intake of breath.”
He continued, “(Mr Farage’s) security and the risks to it, he’s talked about over many times, many occasions, over many years. And I think what’s particularly upsetting for those of us in and around him is sometimes he’s not being believed, not being listened to, and you know we have just got in a sense deep regret over everything that’s happened over a long period of time.”
When asked if Farage had met with the Home Office to discuss his security, Tice confirmed that “a number of meetings have taken place with a number of people at the higher level of Reform.”
He added that the information and intelligence he now receives about threats “is a very significant shift in the approach taken by the authorities, and we appreciate that.”
In August, CTP reopened a year-long probe into an alleged firebomb attack at Farage’s home in south London. Initially investigated as an “attempted burglary,” the Metropolitan Police and CTP London made no arrests before the case was closed pending new leads.
After reopening the investigation, CTP London identified a line of inquiry that “may have been relevant” but had not been “identified and pursued by them at the time.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the conduct of a CTP London staff member following an allegation that the employee “failed to identify and pursue a line of inquiry.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood extended her “profound sympathies” to Farage and his family, stating that this development “raises serious questions about the security of those in public life.”
Mahmood also indicated she will update MPs on measures to strengthen protections for public figures when Parliament reconvenes later this month.
