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PoliticsKuenssberg rejects Zahawi's claim that Farage is victim of Westminster 'pile-on'
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BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg clashed with Reform UK MP Nadhim Zahawi on her Sunday show after he claimed Nigel Farage is the victim of a coordinated Westminster 'pile-on'. The dispute follows Farage's resignation as MP for Clacton, triggering a by-election, amid a parliamentary standards investigation into an undeclared £5 million gift from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire. Kuenssberg countered that Farage is facing standard political scrutiny, comparing it to scrutiny faced by other leadership candidates like Keir Starmer. Zahawi dismissed the standards committee as a 'kangaroo court' and argued that the voters of Clacton should be the ultimate judges. The by-election has backfired on Farage, as Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, and Restore Britain have all refused to field candidates, leaving him in a straight contest with novelty candidate Count Binface.
Source report
BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg pushed back against Reform MP Nadhim Zahawi after he claimed Nigel Farage is the victim of a Westminster "pile-on."
During an appearance on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, the former Tory minister—who left the Conservatives to join Reform in January—argued that Farage's decision to resign as MP for Clacton and trigger a by-election was the right move.
"What Nigel has done is the right thing because it's up to the people of Clacton to back him or sack him," Zahawi said. "My experience is that Westminster, either through a co-ordinated attack on Reform or otherwise, is a pile-on to stop Nigel, to stop Reform."
Kuenssberg responded directly: "You know this is exactly the kind of scrutiny that happens to anyone that wants to become prime minister, whether it's a gift of millions of pounds or the field that Keir Starmer had for his mother's donkey. This is scrutiny."
Farage's By-Election Decision
Farage stepped down as MP for Clacton—a seat he won at the 2024 general election—claiming he was the victim of a "witch-hunt." Parliament's standards watchdog is investigating a £5 million gift from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire that Farage did not declare shortly before standing as an MP.
Zahawi dismissed the standards committee, describing it as "a kangaroo court of MPs who are all anti-Nigel." Half of the committee is made up of members of the public.
"The best scrutiny is the people of Clacton, because ultimately they will judge Nigel and they will judge the Reform Party," he said. "I think, at the moment, there is a co-ordinated attack on Nigel, on Reform."
By-Election Backfires
The decision to call the by-election has backfired on Farage. Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, and Restore Britain have all refused to field candidates, leaving the Reform leader facing a straight contest with novelty candidate Count Binface.
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Source
HuffPost UK - Athena2 - All Entries (Public)Western
Part of this Story
Nigel Farage faces UK standards watchdog probes over undeclared donations and benefits