Nigel Farage has claimed British politics is being marred by religious violence and sectarianism.
Speaking on GB News, he expressed his support for Mike Freer who has announced he's stepping down at the next Election
He said: “Mike Freer has announced he won’t be putting himself forward to stand in the next election. He cites Muslims Against Crusades him harassing year after year. He cites the fact that Ali Harbi Ali visited his office - this is the man who went on to murder David Amess.
“He feels that whilst you're an MP, you have to accept some pretty rough stuff that is now reaching a level that threatens him and his immediate family. And my real concern with this is what we're seeing is sectarianism. Religious violence and sectarianism in British politics. Now, I probably know more about the threats, intimidation and assaults than anyone that's been around in modern British politics.
“I was getting assaulted many, many times, but my way around it was that I had to have a team of security people physically with me when I was campaigning. We don't want our elected representatives to be completely separated from the public. We want them to go out to street markets or whatever it is, to talk to the public. But I don't think it's viable for MPs to go on doing this without having security protection.
“I can hear you saying it'll cost too much money. I can hear you saying no, surely, it's to protect us. But I promise you, if people are frightened of going into politics, this is the physical threats they could face - especially if they're defenders of Israel, especially in the case of Mike Freer if they're openly declared to be gay. If those sorts of people are put off going into politics, we will perhaps find the quality of those in politics diminished even further. And for those that are elected they'll be scared to speak out on issues that really matter. So I believe MPs need more protection.”
