Nigel Farage offered private security after objects thrown during campaigning

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been offered additional private security by the Home Office after a milkshake and other objects have been thrown at him during campaigning for the General Election.

A cup and another object were thrown at Mr Farage while he was on top of a party battle bus in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, on Tuesday.

This followed an incident last week in which a milkshake was thrown over the 60-year-old as he left the Moon and Starfish Wetherspoons pub in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex.

Two people have been charged over the incidents.

It is understood that the Home Office has been in touch with the Reform UK leader to offer additional private security.

Police chiefs say it is difficult to work out the intentions of people in crowds when would-be MPs are out campaigning, but that the candidates may not want to be put in a bubble as they try to speak to the public.

Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), said it was “really important” the election campaign was “peaceful and well run” and “policing has a strong role to play in that”.

The number of intelligence and crime reports received by police relating to MPs has dropped sharply in recent months, but force chiefs insist candidates have confidence in officers to protect them.

In January and February around 260 intelligence reports and 60 or 70 crime reports were received by police in relation to Operation Bridger, which focuses on the security of elected representatives.

But this fell to tens of intelligence reports and “small numbers” of reported crimes in the past two months.

Mr Stephens told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday: “There has been a period where we have seen murders of people who are elected into office. And that is a threat that we want to bring all of our resources to bear to counter the change in sort of societal hostility, the lack of tolerance.

“Understanding the spill over of polarised issues into threats of violence is clearly something where policing has a very strong role to take … What I am clear on is the policing has a very strong role to play in in our primary mission of keeping the King’s peace.

“And throughout this campaign activity it’s really important to us and all of our local communities that it’s a peaceful and well run campaign that democracy can function well, and we recognise that policing has a strong role to play in that.”

The Home Office offers basic security guidance and briefings to all candidates and consider requests for additional, enhanced security measures on a case-by-case basis.

The Government has allocated £31 million for protective security measures for elected representatives and candidates.