Nigel Farage has not come to Scotland during general election campaign because it is 'dangerous'

Nigel Farage has not visited Scotland during the general election campaign because it is "dangerous", Reform UK's chairman has said.

Richard Tice said "security and safety" was "a real issue" for the Reform leader during a press conference at Grangemouth on Wednesday afternoon.

Farage had to be rescued from a locked Edinburgh pub by police in 2013. His attempts to raise the profile of Ukip - the party he then led - in Scotland were greeted by angry protests.

Tice also said Farage was unlikely to come to Scotland before the election in eight days time.

When asked by the Record if Farage was afraid to come to Scotland, Tice said: "He's on great form and he is incredibly busy.

"But in all seriousness, the last time he did come to Scotland, it was dangerous, frankly. And that's a tragedy.

"One of the things that Nigel has to think very carefully about was security and we've already seen some issues.

"We've had one of our candidates assaulted and hospitalised.

"So that's the reality. Unfortunately, for senior figures in the political climate, from a number of parties but particularly for Nigel, security and safety is a real issue."

When asked if Farage would come to Scotland between now and polling day, Tice replied: "We've got an incredibly busy schedule so I suspect that's unlikely. But anything's possible."

Tice also said Reform would keep its deposit in every Scottish seat.

Under its former title of the Brexit Party, Reform stood in 15 Scottish constituencies in the 2019 general election, losing its deposit in all of them.

This time round the party is standing in all 57 Scottish seats.

Tice said: "None. You've got to be an optimist in politics for heaven's sake.

"I know you'll hold me to that depending on what happens."

He also jokingly said Reform was aiming to win over half of seats at the 2026 Holyrood election.

He said: "You've got to be an optimist. We wan a majority."

He later had a go at a journalist for lacking "a sense of humour" over the comments.

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