Farage turned down reduced security offer as MP safety comes under scrutiny
The Reform UK leader has long been vocal about the need for MPs to be served with greater protection amid heightened threats.
The matter has been brought to the public eye once again this week following the alleged murder of Ann Widdecombe, whose death is being investigated by counter-terrorism police.
Mr Farage was offered the protection, which is said to have included a bodyguard, a car, and a trained driver, after police advice, but turned down the package.
He had already been receiving publicly funded protection but felt that the package was being downgraded, the i Paper reports.
The security level would have been similar to that of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, and other high-profile Cabinet ministers, the newspaper reports.
The offer allegedly came from private contractors and came after he asked for similar security levels to what the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood receives.
It comes as Ms Mahmood announced on Monday that she would offer a meeting between the Reform leader and the government’s organisation that manages security for politicians.
Following Ms Widdecombe’s death, Reform said it would provide its MPs with 24-hour security.
Mr Farage has previously defended a £5 million donation received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne, which he claimed was for personal security in 2024 before he re-entered politics.
In a statement announcing his intention to resign as Clacton MP before re-entering the election, he claimed to be the "the most physically and verbally attacked politician of all time."
He added: ’But let me promise you, you only know about a fraction of times I have been assaulted. These are the kind of things I have had to put up with over the last years and over the last years it has got worse."
One source told the I: "My understanding is he demanded something akin to what the Home Secretary gets and was denied it and therefore can claim that he was denied proper protection".
Ms Mahmood told the House of Commons this afternoon that the government will look at security arrangements for MPs as well as those who have left Parliament but are still politically active.
A spokesperson for Reform said the security package offered to Farage last year "represented a reduction of around 75 per cent to protection he already had and which was working".
They added that the recommendation was made following a July 2025 review by Parliament’s former security director Alison Giles, and came days after Charlie Kirk was assassinated in the US.
They said: "No credible assessment can explain a 75 per cent fall in the danger to Mr Farage over a matter of days.
"Reform UK sought independent advice and reports to determine the level of protection deemed suitable.
"Faced with a state offer that no longer matched the threat against him, Reform took the responsible decision to maintain proper protection rather than gamble with his life."
Parliament said it does not comment on individual cases, but that a "rigorous" process was in place to assess arrangements for MPs.
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