Congressman launches investigation into Nigel Farage's travel to US to attend Trump rally

A United States congressman has launched an investigation into the decision to allow Nigel Farage entry to the US to attend a Donald Trump rally, at a time when travel from the UK is banned due to the coronavirus.

US officials exempted Mr Farage from the country’s travel ban under a “national interest” clause. He was pictured at the event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday night, holding a red MAGA (Make America Great Again) hat.

Bennie G Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chairs the committee on homeland security, said the trip raised "troubling questions" and has requested all documents and information that led to the decision by the Trump administration.

“The decision of the Trump Administration to admit Mr Farage to the United States to enable him to attend a campaign rally at a time when most travel from the United Kingdom to the U.S. has been suspended raises numerous troubling questions, as does the claim that such travel was in the national interest,” he wrote in a letter to the acting secretary of the department of homeland security (DHS), Chad Wolf.

As part of his investigation, Mr Thompson requested all communication about the trip between any employee of DHS and employees of the White House and Trump's campaign.

Mr Farage, who left his regular LBC show earlier this month, last appeared at a rally with Mr Trump in 2016, when the then-Republican nominee was campaigning for the US presidency against Hillary Clinton.

Questions were initially raised over how Mr Farage had gained entry to the US despite the country’s strict ban on individuals travelling from the UK under the presidential proclamation signed in March to curb the spread of Covid-19.

In a statement sent to The Independent, the DHS said: “On June 19, Mr Nigel Farage, the leader of the United Kingdom’s Brexit Party, was denied boarding while attempting to fly from the United Kingdom to the United States.

“The initial denial of boarding was made pursuant to a March 14 presidential proclamation that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, suspends the entry into the United States of certain foreign nationals who recently have been present in the United Kingdom.

“After conducting a thorough review of the relevant facts and circumstances, DHS determined Mr Farage’s travel to be permissible under section 2 (a)(xi) of the presidential proclamation: any alien whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the secretary of state, the secretary of homeland security, or their designees authorising Mr Farage to board his flight”.

The US Customs and Border Protection agency has blocked entry to the country since March for “most individuals, other than United States citizens and lawful permanent residents, who have been physically present within the United Kingdom, excluding overseas territories outside of Europe, or the Republic of Ireland within 14 days of travel to the United States”.

Additional reporting by Ashley Cowburn