Nigel Farage pledges to be ‘bloody nuisance’ as clashes break out in Clacton – live

A member of staff at the Wetherspoons where Nigel Farage just had a milkshake hurled at him has suggested the thrower could have been lying in wait for the politician to arrive for an hour, Tara Cobham reports.

The Moon & Starfish worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Independent three police officers had just come into the pub looking for the mystery woman who threw what is believed to be a banana flavoured milkshake.

He said: “She was sat outside by one of the pillars for about an hour beforehand.”

When asked if he was implying that the throw was premeditated, the Wetherspoons staff member replied: “I believe so.”

While he wasn’t close to the Reform UK leader at the time, from afar, he said: “I saw liquid fly through the air and hit a few customers.”

Richard Tice, Nigel Farage’s predecessor as Reform UK leader, said: “The juvenile moron who threw a drink over Nigel has just gained us hundreds of thousands more votes.

“We will not be bullied or threatened off the campaign trail.”

The Reform UK leader’s return to frontline politics is less about influencing the general election than it is about reshaping the Tories in opposition – and steering them to the right. But, says John Rentoul, here’s why he will fail:

Nigel Farage has lost none of his skill in the art of politics as drama. Had he been leader of Reform UK at the time the general election was called, announcing sooner that he would be a candidate in Clacton, by now he would be struggling to persuade journalists to come to his news conferences.

This video captures a girl throwing a drink at Nigel Farage as he leaves the Moon and Starfish pub in Clacton-on-Sea this afternoon.

The milkshake thrown in the face of the new Reform UK leader appears to be banana-flavoured.

The drink was launched at him as he left the Moon and Starfish pub in Clacton.

Nigel Farage was hit in the face with a cup of milkshake today during his campaign launch in Clacton-on-Sea.

Farage was bullish on his ambitions for UK Reform after being appointed leader in an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

He said: “You can speculate as to what’ll happen in three or four years’ time, all I will tell you is if Reform succeed in the way that I think they can, then a chunk of the Conservative Party will join us – it’s the other way around,” he said

Mr Farage highlighted Canada, where “Reform did a reverse takeover of the Conservative Party, rebranded it and Stephen Harper – who was elected as a Reform MP – became the Canadian prime minister for 10 years”.

He said: “I don’t want to join the Conservative Party, I think the better thing to do would be to take it over.”

As Nigel Farage finished his speech at the rally in Clacton-on-Sea, many of the hundreds watching cheered him off the podium “like a rock star leaving a venue”, says political editor David Maddox who was there to report on what was said.

With people pushing forward asking for selfies, he made his way for a quick tour on an open top bus before settling for a drink at Wetherspoon pub.

Not everyone was pleased to see him, however.

Three protestors held a sign during his speech that read: “Farage not welcome in Clacton”.

Nigel Farage said he would be a “bloody nuisance” in Westminster if elected as MP in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.

In his first major public speech since announcing his candidacy he addressed a crowd of hundreds at Clacton Pier.

Shouts from the crowd included “get ’em Nige” and “we love you Nigel”.

He told those gathered: “Send me to Parliament to be a bloody nuisance.”

But, appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Farage appeared to drop the policy, saying he needed to “sort a few things out”.