Richard Tice has declared we “cannot be complacent” when it comes to the safety of political figures amid “increasing concerns” for Reform UK members.
Speaking to GB News, the Deputy Leader of the party admitted he has personally received death threats, and it is “difficult” for “disruptive politics” in the current climate.
After increasing concerns from Reform UK members about their safety, GB News presenter Patrick Christys has opened up about the threats he has faced after exposing the people trafficker trade in France.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Patrick recalled being ordered by police to abandon his home with his then-pregnant wife Emily Carver in the early hours of the morning.
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He said: “These human traffickers wanted to kill me in my own home while my wife was eight months pregnant.
“Who knows if they’d have tried to harm my wife and son in order to get to me? It makes me incredibly angry that we let illegals into the country – who we all pay for. Then we let those same people make millions of pounds trafficking yet more illegals to Britain.
“They feel so emboldened, they thought they could kill a TV journalist in his own home and get away with it.”
Reacting to Patrick’s story, Mr Tice said it is “very distressing” to hear the level of threat aimed at him and his family.
Mr Tice told GB News: “I saw that piece, it was very distressing about Patrick. And look, sadly, we have been increasingly concerned throughout the last two or so months, actually even before the horror of Ann Widdecombe’s murder.
“So it’s not easy, let’s just put it like that. But we have to we have to just push on and operate in a slightly different way to that which we’ve previously operated.”
Asked by host Dawn Neesom if he has personally received death threats, the Reform deputy leader admitted: “Regrettably, yes, and I’m not alone in that.
“Nigel’s obviously, sadly, had the most as has previously been revealed. It’s a difficult place in the world of disruptive politics at the moment.”
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Highlighting the group of masked protesters at the recent by-election in Clacton, Dawn pressed Mr Tice on whether he believes the security of Reform UK members is being taken “seriously enough”.
He responded: “The authorities are now taking it a lot more seriously than they previously were, and we’re obviously grateful for that.
“But no one can be complacent, and unfortunately, there are some people out there who think and do carry out bad acts, and we have to respond to that.
“But we’re optimistic that the authorities are learning from where things haven’t been done properly and done well in the past.”
Turning to Reform UK policy, Mr Tice was questioned on the party’s plans to overhaul the welfare system and scrap “key benefits” to save “£50billion a year”.
He explained: “We want a world-leading benefit system to look after those who genuinely need benefits. But the reality is that in recent years, it’s become too easy for people to claim benefits and get trapped on benefits when actually they need to be working.
“And when you’ve had sort of online assessments and people claiming benefits for anxiety, for mental health issues, the best way to cure mental health and anxiety is to get busy, get busy, go to work, have a structure to your life, and there are tens of billions of pounds that can be saved every year.
“We’ve got some six million people on out of work benefits. We’re saying around about three million should be working and contributing, and that’s the right way for us to function as a as a country.”
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