Nigel Farage has said he received official parliamentary advice against holding in-person surgeries for his constituents – though his claim was immediately called into question by insiders.
On Thursday the Reform UK leader, who became the MP for Clacton in Essex in July, said he had been advised not to hold the physical weekly meetings that are a staple for most MPs, citing fears the public would “flow through the door with knives in their pockets”.
He recalled the murder of the Conservative MP David Amess at a surgery in Essex three years ago.
Farage said he had been given guidance by “the [Commons] speaker’s office, and beneath the speaker’s office there is a security team who give advice and say you should do some things and not do others”.
However, a source told the Guardian this was not advice that the office of the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, or the security team would give to any MP as it would interfere with their democratic duties. They would, however, offer advice on how measures could be taken to ensure safety, the source said.
Farage has come under fire for spending time in the US supporting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign instead of focusing on his role as an MP.
During an LBC radio phone-in with Nick Ferrari, he was asked how many surgeries he had held in his constituency since he was elected. He responded: “Do I have an office in Clacton? Yes. Am I allowing the public to flow through the door with their knives in their pockets? No, no I’m not.”
Asked why people would want to be violent, he said: “Well they did in Southend. They murdered David Amess, and he was a far less controversial figure than me.”
Farage said he is “not yet” holding physical meetings with constituents but would “when parliament allows me”.
He added: “So we’re not in a fit state to do the old-style surgeries, but do you know what, if you’ve got something to say to me as a Clacton resident, Zoom is not the end of the world.”
Hoyle, the speaker, said: “As a constituency MP in Chorley, I hold regular surgeries myself with constituents – and whenever a member [MP] asks for my advice on this matter, I always say that if you are going to hold constituency surgeries make sure you take advice from the Parliamentary Security Department – and do so safely.”
A House of Commons spokesperson said: “The ability for MPs to perform their parliamentary duties safely, both on and off the estate, is fundamental to our democracy.
“The Parliamentary Security Department, working closely with the police, offer all MPs a range of security measures for those with offices or surgeries in their constituencies – helping to ensure a safe working environment.
“We do not comment on individual MPs’ security arrangements or advice because we would not wish to compromise the safety of MPs, parliamentary staff or members of the public, but these are kept under continuous review.”
Farage also announced plans to give up ownership of Reform UK ahead of its party conference in Birmingham this weekend.
Reform was established as a private limited company and Farage had held most of the shares. He said this was done to fast-track the formation of its predecessor, the Brexit party, in time for the 2019 European elections and to “stop the party being hijacked by bad people”.
