The Reform UK leader will spend the first two sitting days after MPs return from the Summer break in Washington, doubling down on his crusade against migrants and arguing against Britain’s online safety laws
Nigel Farage should testify before MPs on Reform UK’s local newspaper ban instead of flying to Washington to complain about “free speech” before the US Congress, the Lib Dems have said.
The Reform UK leader will spend the first two sitting days after MPs return from the Summer break not in Westminster, but in Washington, doubling down on his crusade against migrants and arguing against Britain’s online safety and anti-hate speech laws.
As Farage flew more than 3,000 miles to the US to badmouth Britain to Donald Trump’s allies, Max Wilkinson, the Lib Dems’ culture spokesman said he plans to write to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee, calling on them to launch a probe into the scandal his party is facing back home.
The party was last night accused of “childish behaviour” after wrongly branding Nottinghamshire Live journalists “activists”.
In a Donald Trump-esque move, Reform’s council leader at Nottingham County Council (NCC) last month banned reporters from Nottinghamshire Live/Post and the local democracy reporting service from receiving the party’s press notices and interviewing him or the 40 elected Reform councillors in the area.
She added: “Reform’s voters are the ones suffering here and they deserve better than this childish behaviour.”
“It’s barmy that after six weeks away from Parliament, Nigel Farage is skipping the first days of the Autumn term to go jet-setting wearing his MAGA hat and waving his Trump pom-poms,” Mr Wilkinson told the Mirror.
“Instead of peddling myths to the US congress about free speech in the UK, he should be giving evidence to our Parliament on why his own party is cracking down on free speech by gagging his Reform colleagues from speaking to the media.”
“He should focus on getting his own house in order before going on tour to badmouth Britain.”
Richard Tice yesterday defended the decision to block access to Nottingham Live – owned by the Mirror’s parent company, Reach plc.
Asked if he agreed with the ban, Mr Tice claimed his party “love criticism”, but added: “People who behave as activists are, what we can conclude, not media, and Nottinghamshire Live have essentially acted in a way of activism against Reform.”
Nottinghamshire Live’s editor Natalie Fahy hit back, saying: “Richard Tice may well believe what he is saying about Reform loving criticism but that message has not filtered down to Nottinghamshire County Council.
“They’ve shut up shop at the first whiff of a critical story. I completely refute the suggestion that our journalists have behaved as ‘activists’ when we simply reported that councillors may be suspended if they didn’t vote with the party on local government reorganisation options.”
Farage is slated to speak about “getting mass deportations done” at the National Conservatism conference in the US capital later today (TUE).
And tomorrow he’ll testify before congress on the subject of “free speech.”
Vice President JD Vance, who met with Farage during his recent visit to the UK, has frequently attacked the UK, claiming laws to crack down on harassment of women, online paedophiles and violent racism are assaults on “freedom of speech”.
Farage is also expected to defend Lucy Connolly, who admitted and was convicted of publishing written material that incited racial hatred after calling for migrant hotels to be set on fire on Twitter.
Ahead of the trip, Mr Farage said Ms Connolly, who painted herself as a “political prisoner” after her release from prison, would be “a very central point of what I’m discussing”.
In more than a year since taking office, Farage has only voted in Parliament 91 times. That’s fewer times than Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, who managed 111, Green MP Carla Denyer who voted in 205 divisions. Even Kemi Badenoch managed to vote one more time than him.
He was absent for key votes on planning reform, renters rights and the winter fuel allowance – making several trips to the US at times when Parliament was sitting.
Since he was elected, Farage has made at least nine trips abroad, including eight to the US.