Parliament downgraded Nigel Farage's security from eight to ONE bodyguard a year after winning his seat

Published: 22:18, 17 July 2026 | Updated: 22:28, 17 July 2026 Nigel Farage was given eight taxpayer-funded bodyguards and the use of two cars when he was elected as an MP, only to lose most of the security a year later, it emerged yesterday. With his election campaign in Clacton seeing him doused with a milkshake and the subject of numerous threats, the protection detail was put in place after he won the seat in July 2024. Yet when his arrangements were reviewed after 12 months, by Parliament's then head of security, Alison Giles, he was offered a smaller team. The i Paper reported it would have provided him with a similar level of protection to that given to the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, and some senior Cabinet ministers. But a Reform UK spokesman said the number of bodyguards was reduced from eight to one, plus one driver, adding: 'Two people would have put Nigel's life in danger.' They said that Mr Farage declined this 'downgraded and inadequate package'. At the time, the party said donors had stepped in to 'ensure that his security is shored up'. The revelation comes amid a row over Mr Farage's protection and finances. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage spoke at the CPAC GB conference in London on Friday Prior to his election, he secretly accepted a £5million 'gift' from a Reform donor, which he initially said was to pay for his security and which became the subject of a parliamentary probe. He took the seven-figure sum from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne in April 2024 before being elected to Parliament at the election that July. Earlier this year, when the gift was revealed, Mr Farage said the money had been given to him so that he would be 'safe and secure for the rest of my life'. He also claimed: 'I have tried and failed in the past to get security funded by the Home Office and I don't think the state will ever help me.' The money was being investigated by Parliament's standards commissioner, who was tasked with determining whether Mr Farage broke the rules for MPs by not declaring it. But the inquiry is on hold following his decision to step down as MP for Clacton to fight a by-election, branding it as a vote of 'the people versus the establishment'. It has descended into farce after all the main rival parties refused to put up a candidate. It leaves Mr Farage in a contest with comedy character Count Binface, actor Laurence Fox and a man dressed as a fishfinger. Yesterday, Mr Farage addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference, with former prime minister Liz Truss acting as chairman. He admitted that the by-election was a 'punt' but added: 'I like a gamble.' Criticising the two main parties for not standing against him, he dismissed them as a 'uniparty' as he said he would let the people of Clacton be his judge. Paying tribute to former Tory minister and Reform spokesman Ann Widdecombe, who was killed in her Devon home a week ago, he claimed it was a 'horrific, political, premeditated murder.' In the wake of her death, members of the party have argued that they are not receiving enough protection. As a result, Mr Farage has been offered a meeting with the chairman of the group which oversees protection for senior public figures by the Home Secretary and has accepted.