Nigel Farage latest: Clacton by-election given green light as Reeves ‘lets Reform leader argue with a bin’

David Lammy has said the Hillsborough Bill is likely to return to Parliament before the summer recess as he comes under pressure to ensure security services are subject to a “duty of honesty”.

The deputy prime minister said he was “confident” he will appear before MPs in the House of Commons next week when asked about BBC reports that MI5 covered up an agent who attacked his girlfriend with a machete and was “obsessed” with violence.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said MI5 had presented false evidence to the courts to protect the unidentified agent. The proposed legislation had previously stalled over concerns it would not apply to intelligence agencies.

The legislation, formally known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, will require public officials to tell the truth during inquiries and investigations. The Labor Party promised this in its 2024 manifesto.

It takes its name from the Hillsborough disaster, in which 97 Liverpool fans were crushed to death at the football stadium in Sheffield during the FA Cup semi-final match in 1989.

It later emerged that key public officials, including the police, were not telling the truth about the decisions that led to the fatal incident at the end of Leppings Lane.

Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Cooper said: “MI5 defended in court an agent whom they knew was openly misogynistic, obsessed with violence and who used his position to forcibly control his girlfriend Beth and attack her with a machete.

“To add insult to injury, MI5 also gave false statements to the courts.

“So will the deputy prime minister use this opportunity to offer Beth a full apology on behalf of the Government? And will he use his position to bring back a full Hillsborough Bill covering security services next week so we can pass it before the summer holidays?”

Mr Lammy, who replaced Sir Keir Starmer at the NATO summit in Ankara, replied: “Of course he is raising a very serious issue and I will be arranging for Beth to meet with the security minister to discuss it in detail. She is also raising the Hillsborough Bill and I am sure that will come before the House in the coming days.”

Both Sir Keir and Andy Burnham, who is expected to be the next leader of the Labor Party, have previously stated their support for the bill.

Find more information about the Hillsborough Law campaign below.

Some voters in Clacton-on-Sea believe other political parties are not putting forward candidates against Nigel Farage because they are afraid of losing.

Jim Jackson, 76, said: “They’re afraid to face him, like they’re going to come here and lose.

“I guess they’re bullying him too and trying every tactic as his ratings go up with Reformation while theirs go down.”

“It brings money in there, that’s important,” Mr. Jackson said.

“You can see him in America and of course in Parliament, but he’s still here in Clacton talking to people.”

He said Mr Farage was “our hero” and he would vote for him.

Gary Grant, 60, of Clacton, has slammed Nigel Farage’s resignation and described it as a “tense situation” that could cost taxpayers £250,000.

The parcel delivery worker, who voted Liberal Democrat in 2024, said: Independent: “He throws his toys out of the stroller, that’s all he does. He doesn’t want to face the music, right? That’s all. He did it wrong.”

Mr Grant was once a supporter of Farage but now says Reform is just the party of former Tory MPs.

“I was a big fan of Farage when he first started. When he started talking about immigration, I thought, yeah, let’s do something about it. He’s the man to do it.”

“Farage will be a new form of Conservative. He will do nothing for the poor; he will only line the pockets of the rich. That’s all he will do.”

Mr Grant believes he has “done absolutely nothing” when it comes to the people of Clacton.

“When Farage first came on the scene and started telling people what they wanted to hear, I wanted to hear it too. I thought, yes, this is the man we want, this is what we need, but he’s done absolutely nothing since 2024. I’ve seen him in passing but I don’t have time for this man, not now.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she will accept Nigel Farage’s request to “appoint a steward and executor of Northstead Manor”, the formal mechanism for his resignation.

“This is a farce and a desperate distraction and the people of Clacton deserve better,” he said.

“But if he wants to spend the summer arguing with garbage, I won’t stop him.”

in the room Podcast hosts Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson say Farage’s speech carries signs of “Trumpism”.

“He pieced together the little facts that made his case and his narrative,” Cleo said.

Helen said: “The Trumpian part covers the whole: ‘We’re first in the last 350 polls, we have more members than any other party, we’re winning hard, but we’re still not winning enough because the establishment is working against us and trying to take me down.’ And Reformation like that It ranks high in public opinion polls. They have more donors than any other political party. He managed to present a very convincing argument on this issue.

“The point he makes about Labor trying to cancel the May election is unfortunately true. It’s also true that it’s only happening because of the Reform cause. So he’s got some really solid, big facts to put together.”

Listen to the full episode:

Asked whether the Conservatives would vote for Count Binface in the upcoming by-elections, Kemi Badenoch told Sky News: “The people of Clacton, and the Conservatives in particular, are very sensible; they will do what they know is right. It’s not for me to get involved in that.”

“Let’s see what kind of campaign Count Binface is running and who the establishment really is; if it’s about the people and the establishment, I think Nigel Farage might be like the establishment and Count Binface might be the people. So it’s all a farce.”

Nigel Farage’s bid to pay for the Clacton by-election using party funds has been rejected by Downing Street.

The Prime Ministry spokesman pointed out: “The law is clear that the cost of holding an election must be borne by public funds, not by candidates or political parties.

“Individuals or groups can donate to the consolidated fund as normal, but they are not ring-fenced for specific activities.”

Downing Street has refused to say whether it will block the Clacton by-election to allow the investigation into Nigel Farage’s finances to run its course.

Asked whether the chancellor might delay this, the prime minister’s spokesman declined to comment.

It appears that the last time a resignation was rejected in Parliament was in 1842, when Patrick Chambers’ resignation was rejected on the grounds that he was trying to escape an investigation into a bribery case.