Nigel Farage has said he was referring to claims made by influencer Andrew Tate when he asked whether the alleged Southport attacker was known to security services.
In a video posted on July 30, the day after the attack that killed three young girls, Reform UK leader Mr Farage said there had been “reports” that the suspect was being monitored by the security services.
Referring to the police description of the attack as a non-terror incident, he added: “I just wonder whether the truth is being withheld from us. I don’t know the answer to that. I think it’s a fair and legitimate question.”
Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, he declined to apologise for his comments, saying the disorder following the Southport attack had been so bad because “we weren’t told the truth”.
He said his comments about the security services had been referring to posts by “prominent folks with a big following”, such as Andrew Tate falsely claiming the suspect had arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in a small boat in 2016.
Tate, a former kickboxer, has risen to prominence as an influencer and is awaiting trial in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
Mr Farage told LBC: “There were some stories online from prominent folks with a big following, Andrew Tate etc, suggesting that the man had crossed the English Channel in a boat in October 2023.”
He added: “I asked a very simple question, was this person known or not.”
Asked whether he had fallen for false claims online, Mr Farage went on: “I didn’t believe any of it, I hadn’t got a clue.”
The teenager who has been charged in connection with the Southport attack, Axel Rudakubana, was born in Wales to Rwandan parents in 2006.
Police confirmed he was born in Cardiff in a statement on July 29, the day of the attack, but could not release his name for legal reasons until a judge lifted his anonymity.
