“I am going to shoot you in the head if you win.” That was the social media post that led police to arrest a man in his 20s in south London on Tuesday this week – an arrest that came just six days after Reform UK spokesperson Ann Widdecombe was killed at her Devon home, a death being investigated by counter terror police.
The man was arrested on suspicion of sending threatening communications to a Member of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police said. The alleged threat, posted on X, was reported to police on 8 May, the day after the local and mayoral elections. He has been bailed pending further inquiries.
“A man has been arrested over an X post threatening to shoot Nigel Farage, six days after Ann Widdecombe was killed.”
The Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team informed Nigel Farage of the arrest on Wednesday. Farage said it was “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.” The arrest was first reported in the Daily Telegraph, which said the post read: “I am going to shoot you in the head if you win.”
Police told Farage it could take several weeks to examine digital devices they had seized.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, announced at a press conference that if the party were in government, it would provide “round-the-clock protection” for all MPs. Yusuf added that Farage “lives his life under the ever-present threat of mortal danger” and that those who “question his need for security should stop”. Farage has also been calling for better security for Reform MPs.
Separately, a University of Aberdeen employee has been arrested and charged over social media comments about Ann Widdecombe’s death. The threat to Farage, amid heightened tensions following the killing of a senior Reform figure, has intensified the debate over the safety of politicians online. “I hope they are looking at the other three or four hundred similar posts,” Farage said, as police now face weeks of digital forensic work.
