It comes within a week of the tragic killing of Ann Widdecombe - a political ally of Mr Farage
Police have arrested a man for threatening to kill Nigel Farage, just days after the tragic killing of former MP Ann Widdecombe, GB News understands.
The suspect described himself as a terrorist on social media and warned the Reform UK leader: “I am going to shoot you in the head if you win".
News of the arrest comes just hours after Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf delivered a public address to highlight the security risks around political figures, and pledge a Reform government would provide suitable protection for both serving and former MPs.
The party, along with Labour and cross-party colleagues, is demanding better security provision for politicians, after former MP and Reform's immigration and justice spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe was killed at her home last week.
Alongside Sir David Amess and Jo Cox, the 78-year-old has sadly become the third serving or former MP to have been killed, with Mr Farage complaining that police have done nothing to tackle online threats and real world violence.
The arrest marks the first time an instruction to police by the parliamentary authorities to investigate a threat to kill Mr Farage has resulted in an arrest.
The prompt arrest of a man in London yesterday over the social media post threat is believed to represent a new-found caution since the death of Ann Widdecombe, which counter-police have now described as a "targeted attack".
The threatening post on X was made towards Mr Farage on May 8 after Reform saw seeping gains in the local elections the day prior, with the man arrested on July 14 - six days after Ann Widdecombe was killed at her Dartmoor home.
Beyond the original threat, the man in question later bombarded Mr Farage with further threats to life in response to subsequent tweets regarding local election results.
The suspect was then arrested by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of sending a threatening communication.
Interviewed by officers before being released on bail pending further inquiries, the detainee will be subject to examination of any personal phones and computers.
Scotland Yard informed Mr Farage of the man’s arrest this morning.
He told The Telegraph: “This is the first time the police have ever proactively acted on a social media post, and I hope they are looking at the other three or four hundred similar posts from this year alone.
“This has been going on for years - not just words but videos of people firing guns and so on, and in the past we have put multiple reports in to the police, always to be told that these social media posts don’t meet the threshold, which is extraordinary.
“And it goes deeper than that. It’s about the comedian Jo Brand joking about throwing battery acid in my face, it’s about Noel Fielding telling people to stab me, and if the police now decide to act to protect the lives of serving and ex-politicians, then at least something good will have come out of Ann’s horrific death.”
It is said the harmful tweet was identified by Parliament’s security information and risk analysis service, before being reported to the Met’s parliamentary liaison and investigations team.
This team investigated the post, and deemed it a threat directed towards a serving member of Parliament.
Detectives contacted X to identify the account holder, where they were able to track him down and bring him into custody.
His bail conditions include not contacting Mr Farage in any way, restricting his use of social media and excluding him from physically entering the Westminster area.
Mr Farage has been subject to a plethora of attacks over his political careear, ranging from milkshakes thrown at him to eggs launched in his direction - previously claiming his home was the subject of a firebomb attack last year.
Last year, Afghan migrant Fayaz Khan, 26, was found guilty of threatening to kill Mr Farage after posting a TikTok video saying he was “going to shoot” the Reform UK leader once he arrived on UK shores.
