Keir Starmer has criticized Nigel Farage for his silence on a situation involving a Reform council leader who shared a social media post suggesting that a Labour MP should be shot. The post in question, shared by Lancashire deputy council leader Simon Evans, contained a fabricated quote attributed to Natalie Fleet, falsely claiming she voted against investigating grooming gangs. Fleet, who represents Bolsover, has previously disclosed her own experience of being groomed and assaulted as a teenager.
Evans also reposted a message alongside the image that included the phrase, “You dozy cow, you should be shot,” as reported by The Guardian. Following public backlash, Evans issued an apology and removed the post.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, the Prime Minister called out Nigel Farage for not taking action against the incident involving his party member. He urged Farage to condemn the threatening remarks directed at the MP for Bolsover and remove the responsible individual from his party.
In response, Farage raised a different topic about the Chagos Islands and did not address the issue at hand. The Prime Minister criticized Farage for his lack of accountability, labeling his party as promoting grievance and division.
Following the backlash, Evans deleted the post and issued a public apology on Facebook, attributing the incident to an oversight and reaffirming his commitment to non-violence in politics. A spokesperson for Reform Party stated that after an internal review, they viewed the incident as an honest mistake and decided not to take further action against Evans, accepting his apology and explanation.
