Police turn up to shut down conference while Nigel Farage was giving speech

Nigel Farage claimed he was being censored after authorities arrived to shut down a right-wing conference while he was speaking.

The Brexit figurehead claimed ‘This is like the old Soviet Union – no alternative view allowed’ after an order to ban the event ‘to guarantee public safety’.

He was speaking at the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, Belgium, today, where former Home Secretary Suella Braverman also gave a speech and was in the audience at the time.

But not everyone welcomed the divisive politicians.

Emir Kir, mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode district, said he had issued an order banning the conference from taking place: ‘In Etterbeek, in Brussels City and in Saint-Josse, the far-right is not welcome.’

It had already struggled to find a venue, with two event spaces cancelling the booking in the face of public pressure – leading organisers to accuse the Brussels mayor Philippe Close of seeking to ‘cancel’ the event.

The Sun’s political correspondent shared video of uniformed officers arriving, writing: ‘Cops have shown up at NatCon in Brussels while Nigel Farage is delivering his speech. Organisers have 15 minutes to make attendees leave.’

However, the event appeared to continue in the immediate aftermath with speakers not stopping their remarks.

In a video on social media this afternoon, Farage defended the gathering, saying: ‘Over the next two days, you’ve got the prime minister of Hungary, you’ve got a bishop, you’ve got members of the European royal families coming, well-known international businessmen and women, politicians, leaders of parties that will win European elections in countries this year in June.

‘And yet, because they are questioning ever-closer union, because they are questioning globalism, they are literally being shut down.’

Conference organisers said they were launching a legal challenge to Mr Kir’s order.

They said: ‘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?’

The conference heard from two other Conservative MPs, Ms Braverman and Miriam Cates, later.

Tomorrow, it was to host a speech by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban.

Rishi Sunak had faced pressure to block Ms Braverman’s attendance at the conference, with Labour shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth urging him to stop the former home secretary ‘giving oxygen to these divisive and dangerous individuals’.

Both Ms Braverman and Ms Cates addressed the National Conservatism conference in London last year, which was disrupted by protesters.

Jacob Rees-Mogg was cut off by one stage invader as he addressed the National Conservatism Conference last year.

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