Speaker's Office has 'no record' of telling Nigel Farage not to hold in-person surgeries, Sky News understands

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage would not have been told to avoid holding in-person surgeries in his constituency, Sky News understands.

A source said the Speaker's Office have no record of telling Mr Farage he should not hold physical surgeries in his Clacton constituency, as he claimed in a phone-in earlier on Thursday.

The MP had said he is not holding in-person surgeries in his constituency over fears the public will "flow through the door with knives in their pockets".

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The Reform UK leader said he had been advised not to accommodate the "old-style" physical meetings between MPs and their constituents in his seat of Clacton.

Asked whether he was hosting in-person surgeries, Mr Farage told LBC "not yet", but that he would "when parliament allows me".

On whether he had been advised for his own security not to hold surgeries, he replied: "I would have thought that would make sense, wouldn't you?"

He said the guidance had been given by "the Speaker's (Sir Lindsay Hoyle'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, Sky News understands that the Speaker's Office has no record of this conversation.

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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 (PSD), 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."

The Reform UK leader was asked whether he had an office in his constituency - and how many surgeries he had held there since being elected more than two months ago.

"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," he replied.

Asked why people of Clacton would want to flow through the door with knives in their pockets, he said: "Well they did in Southend. They murdered David Amess, and he was a far less controversial figure than me."

Conservative politician Sir David was fatally stabbed during a surgery in his Southend constituency in 2021 by an Islamic State-supporting terrorist.

A spokesperson for Reform UK told Sky News: "Nigel has been advised against holding in-person surgeries by the Parliamentary Security Department and the Home Office until physical measures have been put in place that ensure the safety of him, his staff and the general public."

(c) Sky News 2024: Speaker's Office has 'no record' of telling Nigel Farage not to hold in-person surg