Nigel Farage has conceded that Commons authorities never told him not to hold constituency surgeries on security grounds.
The Reform UK MP admitted last month that he is not holding in-person surgeries in his constituency over fears the public will “flow through the door with knives in their pockets”.
He said he had been advised not to accommodate the “old-style” physical meetings between MPs and their constituents in his seat of Clacton.
During a phone-in on LBC, Farage 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.
But at a press conference this week, he rowed back on suggestions that he had been advised by Commons authorities not to hold surgeries after parliamentary sources rubbished the claims.
Asked “which one of you is lying?” by a reporter, a humbled Farage responded: “The Speaker’s Office is always right.”
Since becoming an MP in July, the Reform leader has been repeatedly accused of not prioritising his Commons role, coming under fire for spending time in the US in particular and not holding in-person surgeries in his Clacton constituency.
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”.
“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,” Farage added.
There is no record of this advice having been given to the MP by either the Speaker’s Office or Parliament’s security team and neither have any recollection of such a conversation, it is understood.
At the time, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay said: “As a constituency MP in Chorley, I hold regular surgeries myself with constituents – and whenever a Member 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 (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.”