Lib Dem MP accused of 'physical altercation' with Farage speaks out

It's quite the drama. I got involved in a physical altercation with an MP in my chamber. It was pretty petty and pretty nasty. He just said, let me through. I said, you can wait your turn like everybody else. And he didn't like that. So you're saying that Nigel Farage pushed you? Yes. Why were you so aggressive towards him? I didn't push him at all. He was the one that grabbed me and pushed me out of the way. I mean, if anyone was being aggressive with their behaviour, it was him. It's not a great look to push and shove anyone, let alone as a grown-up in your place of work and particularly as a man towards a woman. It doesn't seem like a brilliant idea. Ah! Oh, God! What, really? Lock the door! Lock the door, quickly! Sorry, Eleanor just said there were some Liberal Democrat MPs in the building and I was really worried that there might be a physical altercation. Oh! We're going to hear from the Liberal Democrat MP accused of getting into a physical altercation with Nigel Farage. He says that that was the reason that he was absent from the Commons during yesterday's budget. Reforms Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick claimed on yesterday's show that the Lib Dems were pretty petty and pretty nasty. It's quite the drama. Can I ask you about something that seems to have happened in the House of Commons? Nigel Farage wasn't in In the Commons, for the budget, at the... State's opening of Parliament. I got involved, I didn't want to, but I got involved in a physical altercation with an MP in the chamber, I didn't make a fuss about it, I didn't complain, but I could see... Given that my prayer card had been removed, I was heading towards another physical altercation. And just sometimes it's better to avoid conflict. Do you know anything about this? Well, as I understand it, when Nigel went to, I think it was the King's Speech, a load of bolshy Lib Dem MPs got in the way of him and made it very difficult for him to join the procession to go and listen to the King's Speech in the normal way. I wasn't a witness to that, but it sounds like it was pretty petty. And pretty nasty, and so he decided instead to focus on preparing for the statement that he gave, excellent statement, just a few moments ago. So just to be clear about this, Mr Jones, the suggestion is, you might not have been there yourself, but you may have heard from colleagues, your suggestion is that Nigel Farage was prevented from getting into the Commons by MPs who dropped him. No, he was leaving the chamber. When the King's speech happened... No, just for this event today, sorry, the budget today. Nigel Farage has suggested that he wasn't in the Commons today because of a prior physical altercation. Yeah, because I just explained what happened to him last time. What happened to him last time. So I think that's the answer. But anyway, the most important thing here is... Hang on, sorry. So he didn't go to the Commons today because he was prevented from going to the Commons for the King's Speech? Yeah, because there were some very rude and offensive... Look, live dead memories. But look, you're going to ask me about these things. What really matters is the actual budget. I mean, I know you're always interested in trivia on this show, but... What I care about are working people in this country. What I care about is working people in this country. The Lib Dem MP involved in the altercation is Caroline Voden, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon who joins me live. Thank you so much for coming on the programme, Caroline. It's good to see what happened. Tom, thank you for inviting me on. So this was all five months ago on the day of the King's speech and it's the day when Members of Parliament process through to the House of Lords to watch the King's speech. As the leader of a small party, Nigel Farage has the opportunity to to process through to the lords with the other party leaders. But he kind of missed the moment and didn't get into the procession in time, probably because no one from his party had showed up for the rehearsal. So he didn't, he wasn't in the right place at the right time. He missed his spot in the procession. He was clearly quite annoyed. And as he tried to get out of the chamber to get into the procession, um we were, there were a whole bunch of us who were standing in front of him on a flight of stairs. He wanted to get past. He didn't ask politely. He just said Let me through. I said, you can wait your turn like everybody else. very And he didn't like that, grabbed me by the arm, shoved me to one side on the stairs and tried to push past me. much. And one of my colleagues put his hand out to stop him because he was concerned that I was going to fall down the stairs. And then, you know, that was it. And then he ended up having to sort of fall in line behind us. And now, yes, now I see through to the Lord. One of your colleagues says that you were, quote, shoved and sent flying. Were you? It was shoved to one side. Yes. I wouldn't say I was sent flying, but I was definitely shoved. To one side, so that I stumbled and fell a bit. Because there's obviously footage of this, or as you know, cameras in the commons, there's footage of this that shows this coming together. Nigel Farage is trying to get down the steps, he's trying to sort of slightly get past you in order to get to the procession which is heading towards the House of Lords. Something seems to happen, and I think you might put your arm onto one of the commons benches, maybe to steady yourself. That's the moment you're saying that there was a physical altercation. So, this all happened just before that clip, which I have watched several times, but, yeah, this happened before that, and that was probably me trying to steady myself afterwards, before we went down the steps. So, you're saying that Nigel Farage pushed you? Yes, and loads of people saw it. What does he... He's saying that there was a physical altercation, and he doesn't want to come back to the House of Commons in order, basically, to avoid you. Maybe he thinks he's scared of you, perhaps. You know what, it's absolutely laughable to think that Nigel Farage is scared to come into the House of Commons because of me or a bunch of Lib Dems. I mean, the whole thing, Tom, is so utterly ridiculous. A, this had nothing to do with seating arrangements back at the King's speech. So it was completely unconnected to what happened yesterday. And B, it was months ago. You know, the reason he wasn't in the Budget speech yesterday was probably because he couldn't I couldn't be bothered to sit through... prime minister's questions and then sit through the budget speech in the chamber of the House of Commons sitting four rows back from the front and amongst hundreds of other MPs you know he doesn't have a special seat he doesn't have a front row view he he's just one of hundreds of us and you know that doesn't suit him well reformers say that Nigel Farage has done nothing wrong they say i'm quoting here it was the Lib Dem MPs and i suspect then you Caroline being aggressive towards Nigel. Why are you so aggressive towards him? I wasn't aggressive towards him, he was trying to push past me and he grabbed me and pushed me out of the way and... I didn't push him at all. He was the one that grabbed me and pushed me out of the way. I mean, if anyone was being aggressive with their behaviour, it was him. You know, he's got no manners. And it was just typical of Nigel Farage that he thought he should be in front of us. And that he, you know, but instead of asking politely, he just pushes and shoves to get through and get past, you know. How are you going to put this all to bed, Caroline? How are we going to sort this out? How are we going to get through this? How are you going to make up? You know what? I. I never wanted this to be a big media story, which is why I never said anything about it at the time. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that Nigel Farage has blown all of this up. You know, he's the one that brought this to the attention of the media. All I did was go to the sergeant at arms who's in charge of the chamber and told him about it. And he wrote to Nigel and said, you need to apologise to Caroline. And Nigel Farage didn't bother to apologise, which just says everything, doesn't it? Appreciate your time. Thank you for coming on. Caroline Vinden is the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon who had that, quote, physical altercation with Nigel Farage in the House of Commons and immediately my mind turns to the playground, the schoolyard. They're just pushing and shoving. I mean, it's not a great look to push and shove anyone, let alone as a grown-up in your place of work and particularly as a man towards a woman. Doesn't seem like a brilliant idea, but... Shall we do this? I think we should do this because a couple of you have asked me about it. Here is Nigel Farage offering up a version of events to explain his absence from the chamber yesterday during the budget. I would remind you this is a man who aspires to lead the entire country. At the state opening of Parliament, I got involved. I didn't want to, but I got involved in a physical altercation with an MP in the chamber. I didn't make a fuss about it. I didn't complain. But I could see, given that my prayer card had been removed, I was heading towards another physical altercation. And just sometimes, it's better to avoid conflict. Yeah. He didn't complain. First time for everything, I suppose. Here's what a House of Commons spokesperson has to say on this very, very subject. There are clear and long-established arrangements for members to reserve their own seats in the chamber using prayer cards displaying a valid date stamp. Today, a prayer card placed on a seat did not display a valid date stamp and was removed in line with the usual chamber protocol. So he can't even fill in a date on a piece of paper. But rather than admit that to you, he's claiming that he was somehow fearful of a physical altercation. And he's also asking you to believe that he wouldn't complain about it if he was. So there it is again. If proof were needed, or if further proof were needed, that when Nigel Farage tells you something, it's best to check the facts with the people who have them. Clear and long-established arrangements for members to reserve their own seats in the chamber, displaying a valid date stamp. Today, a prayer card placed on a seat did not display a valid date stamp and was removed in line with the usual chamber protocol. Ah! Oh god! What, really? Lock the door! Lock the door, quickly! Sorry, Eleanor just said there were some Liberal Democrat MPs in the building and I was really worried that there might be a physical altercation. Whoa! Seriously, I'll face up to most people, but Liberal Democrat MPs, especially the ladies, they're really, really scary.