‘I’m glad to see the honourable member making a rare appearance back here in Britain’
Sir Keir Starmer had a quick response for Nigel Farage during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
The Reform MP was making a rare appearance at PMQs, having recently returned from a trip to the USA to support Donald Trump in his presidential election campaign.
Farage was elected as the MP for Clacton in the general election last summer, the first time he had ever won a seat in the House of Commons.
But he has been criticised by many for spending quite a lot of time anywhere but his constituency, with some asking why he was seemingly more concerned with jetting out to the US for Trump than he was dealing with the issues affecting the people of Clacton.
And when the Reform leader stood up in Parliament to ask a question to the Prime Minister, Starmer was ready with a put down for him.
You can watch the moment below.
Farage started by saying he was sure the Prime Minister and the “whole house” would join him in congratulating Trump on his presidential win, prompting widespread laughter from the chamber.
Moving onto his question to the PM, Farage mentioned the recent news regarding an alleged plot to assassinate Trump.
Addressing this, Farage said: “Within a couple of days [of Trump’s win] we’ve learned of a third assassination attempt. Charges have been laid, and behind it are Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
“Has the time not come Prime Minister, to prescribe what is so obviously a terrorist organisation, and in doing so, not just do the right thing but maybe mend some fences between this government and the incoming presidency of Donald Trump’s, given that the whole of his cabinet have been so rude about him over the last few years?”
Responding to the question, Starmer quipped: “Well, I’m glad to see the honourable member making a rare appearance back here in Britain.
“He spent so much time in America recently. I was half expecting, to see him on the immigration statistics, when we saw the next batch.”
Addressing Farage’s question, the Prime Minister said: “He may have missed it, but I did congratulate the incoming president last week, and we will work with him.
“The point he makes about Iran is a very serious point and we will work across the house and with our allies on it. Obviously, on the question of prescription, we keep them under review.”
US prosecutors charged an Iranian man last week over an alleged plot to kill Trump. Prosecutors accused Iran’s government of hiring the man to “direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump.”
Speaking about the charges, FBI director Christopher Wray said: “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been conspiring with criminals and hitmen to target and gun down Americans on US soil and that simply won’t be tolerated.”
Iran’s foreign ministry has said the claims are “totally unfounded.” A spokesperson said the Iranian foreign ministry “rejects allegations that Iran is implicated in an assassination attempt targeting former or current American officials”.
