Police launch investigation into 5 assaults at Reform UK conference

The West Midlands Police is continuing its investigation into assaults on five people at Reform conference last weekend. 

Video footage has been circulating on social media of protesters being assaulted on Friday at Reform’s conference.

The protesters were part of Climate Resistance, and disrupted Nigel Farage’s keynote speech on Friday afternoon. 

In response, Reform conference attendees are seen attacking the hecklers. 

In one video, an older man with a walking stick is seen hitting a female protester over the head, while another grabs her mouth and people push her.

Reacting to the assaults, Reform MP Robert Jenrick said he had “zero sympathy” for the protesters who were attacked. 

He also justified the violence carried out by members of the audience, saying: “What do you expect them to do?”.

Farage laughed at the disruption and said: “We’ve got a screamer. Oh dear.”

The Reform leader also said to the conference hall: “That poor young girl, she looked like she was going to do herself an injury”, before adding, “boring, boring, boring”.

The police have been urging the protesters who were attacked to come forward. 

In a statement, the West Midlands police force said: “To date, none of the victims involved have come forward. We continue to encourage them to do so.”

The statement added: “A number of suspects have been identified as the investigation progresses.”

LFF spoke with a Climate Resistance activist who attended Reform conference at the weekend, who said she was unsure if one of the women who was assaulted would report the incident to the police. 

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward