Humiliated Nigel Farage backs down when asked who's lying about holding surgeries

Reform UK person Nigel Farage backed down erstwhile helium was asked who was lying implicit claims he'd been told not to clasp constituency surgeries due to the fact that of information concerns

Nigel Farage has backed down connected his assertion that Commons authorities told him not to clasp constituency surgeries connected information grounds.

When asked who was lying aft parliamentary sources denied it, the Reform person rowed back. Last period Mr Farage claimed helium would clasp surgeries "when Parliament allows me". He said he'd been fixed guidance not to clasp in-person surgeries by "the Speaker's Office" and the parliamentary information team.

His claims were disputed by parliamentary sources - who said nary specified proposal had been fixed arsenic it would interfere with Mr Farage's antiauthoritarian duties. He was challenged that the Speaker's Office had denied this and parliamentary information had nary grounds and asked: "Which 1 of you is lying?"

A humbled Mr Farage responded: "The Speaker's Office is ever right." Since becoming an MP successful July, the Reform person has been repeatedly accused of not prioritising his Commons role, coming nether occurrence for spending clip successful the US successful peculiar and not holding in-person surgeries successful his Clacton constituency.

During a phone-in connected LBC successful September, Mr Farage suggested helium had not yet held an in-person country for information reasons. Asked whether helium had been advised for his ain information not to clasp surgeries, helium replied: "I would person thought that would marque sense, wouldn't you?"

He said the guidance had been fixed by "the Speaker's (Sir Lindsay Hoyle's) Office, and beneath the Speaker's Office determination is simply a information squad who springiness proposal and accidental you should bash immoderate things and not bash others". "So we're not successful a acceptable authorities to bash the old-style surgeries, but bash you cognize what, if you've got thing to accidental to maine arsenic a Clacton resident, Zoom is not the extremity of the world," Mr Farage added.

There is nary grounds of this proposal having been fixed to the MP by either the Speaker's Office oregon Parliament's information squad and neither person immoderate recollection of specified a conversation, it is understood.

At the time, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay said: "As a constituency MP successful Chorley, I clasp regular surgeries myself with constituents - and whenever a Member asks for my proposal connected this matter, I ever accidental that if you are going to clasp constituency surgeries, marque definite you instrumentality proposal from the Parliamentary Security Department - and bash truthful safely."

A House of Commons spokesperson said: "The quality for MPs to execute their Parliamentary duties safely, some connected and disconnected the estate, is cardinal to our democracy. The Parliamentary Security Department (PSD), moving intimately with the police, connection each MPs a scope of information measures for those with offices oregon surgeries successful their constituencies, helping to guarantee a harmless moving environment.

"We bash not remark connected idiosyncratic MPs' information arrangements oregon proposal due to the fact that we would not privation to compromise the information of MPs, Parliamentary unit oregon members of the public, but these are kept nether continuous review."