Brussels authorities have ordered a right-wing political conference taking place in the city to be shut down, sparking outrage from speakers and guests alike.
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With political heavyweights including Nigel Farage and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman in attendance, the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) had aimed to bring together voices from across Europe to share their views on the continent's future political outlook.
However, once Farage was on stage to address the gathered crowd, a Brussels district mayor ordered organisers to wrap up the conference within just 15 minutes.
Emir Kir, the mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode in the Belgian capital, said he had issued an order banning the conference from taking place "to guarantee public safety".
Nigel Farage was speaking at the Brussels conference today as police arrived to shut it down
GB News/Getty
Kir added: "In Etterbeek, in Brussels City and in Saint-Josse, the far-right is not welcome."
A report in local outlet the Brussels Times had said "anti-fascist" protesters were threatening the venue with mass protests, and had demanded the event be called off entirely.
Police told GB News they had issued a public order notice due to the "threat of protest" at the event, though sources at the scene reported there had not yet been any sign of demonstrations.
Authorities are currently jostling with reporters and guests at an entrance the building, after organisers were handed a mere 15 minutes' notice to respond after the notice had been read.
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Nigel Farage blasted the Socialist Party Mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, as "ghastly" - though local mayor Emir Kir issued the order
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Nigel Farage, as he extended his speech to start taking questions from the audience, said: "I've heard the police are very eager to close us down, so they can close it down with me on stage."
Farage slammed the decision to close the conference as "monstrous" and slated what he called the "extreme intolerance" of authorities in interviews after his speech, asking: "What will this look like around the world?"
He added: "If anything made me think Brexit was the right thing to do, it was the events here today."
Speaking to GB News' Good Afternoon Britain, he accused the EU of not liking "alternative points of view", and recalled his experiences as an MEP in which he was "banned from restaurants, bars and coffee shops" for his views.
Farage also took to social media to voice his anger at the police response, which he called a "disgrace".
But he slammed the police's and what he said was the "ghastly" Mayor of Brussels' intervention at NatCon as the event rolled on, claiming the Socialist Party mayor, Philippe Close, was "harassing" him.
Farage blasted the notice as "cancel culture", adding: "This is the updated, new form of communism."
Conference organisers said they were launching a legal challenge to Kir’s order, adding: "There is no public disturbance and no grounds to shut down a gathering of politicians, intellectuals, journalists, students, civic leaders, and concerned citizens.
"The police entered the venue on our invitation, saw the proceedings and the press corps, and quickly withdrew. Is it possible they witnessed how peaceful the event is?"
GB News understands that a speaker entered the stage to tell delegates the event would continue for as long as possible - but warned the crowd that if they left, police would not let them back in.
The speaker also said that if authorities were to close down the conference permanently, it would continue at a different venue tomorrow.
