The Reform chairman said voters had “stuck two fingers up to the establishment” after Nigel Farage’s victory in the Clacton by-election.
Lee Anderson appeared on Radio 4’s Today programme after the Clacton by-election (Image: Getty)
Lee Anderson has accused a BBC host of “being very rude” and said Reform voters had “stuck two fingers up” to the broadcaster after Nigel Farage’s victory in Clacton. The Reform chairman appeared on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning after Mr Farage refused to attend the official declaration of the by-election result amid an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade” his win.
Pressed by Justin Webb over Mr Farage’s claim that Essex Police had warned him to stay away from the count, which the force denies, Mr Anderson said the party leader’s time was “better spent” with supporters and campaigners.
“Nigel is a man of principle,” he said. “We were at a party overnight until the early hours of this morning, where we had hundreds of campaigners, activists, members, politicians and councillors who turned out in great numbers to support this victory of Nigel in Clacton. I think personally his time is better spent with the people that supported him – he said a massive thank you to them throughout the evening.”
The Reform UK leader was re-elected with a large majority this week (Image: Getty)
Mr Anderson then chided Mr Webb for interjecting to question Mr Farage’s proof of there being a “credible threat” to his safety in the constituency.
“Please stop interrupting, you’re very rude,” he said. “He celebrated a stunning victory, the people decided, they stuck two fingers up to people like the BBC, the establishment, the whole Westminster circus. There’s been a constant witch hunt by people in the media.”
“It’s not up to you at the BBC to decide whether or not there’s a credible threat. It’s up to Nigel and his security team, and that’s the end of that question.”
He denied the BBC presenter’s suggestion that he seemed “incredibly angry”, insisting he was “a little tired” but that the party as a whole was a “very happy bunch this morning”.
Mr Farage won the by-election with 22,239 votes but did not attend the count, with a spokesperson explaining that “Essex Police advised [him] not to attend due to a credible threat against him”.
Speaking to supporters about the “overwhelming endorsement” from Clacton, he also said police had informed him of an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result”.
But the force said there were “no incidents or issues” regarding the by-election, and that decisions on whether candidates attend the count is “for individuals and their security teams”.
A spokesperson said: “We have a full and robust policing operation in place around the Clacton by-election, as we do with all significant elections in our country.
“We take the safety and security of our elected officials extremely seriously and, equally, we take our policing responsibilities around the democratic process seriously too.
“The decision of candidates to attend or not attend the election count is a decision for individuals and their security teams, our role is to make sure our policing operation is sufficiently robust to ensure the safety of all, and we are grateful to all of our officers, staff and the staff at Tendring District Council who worked through the night to ensure the safety of all.”