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Nigel Farage says he was hit by van after searching seven petrol stations for fuel

Former Brexit and Reform Party leader complains of empty stations

Matt Mathers
Thursday 30 September 2021 15:58 BST
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Related: Farage says he’ll live abroad if Brexit is a disaster

Nigel Farage says his car was hit by a van while he was driving around looking for fuel amid Britain’s ongoing supply chain crisis.

In a message posted on Twitter, the former Brexit and Reform Party leader-turned-broadcaster complained about empty petrol stations across the country.

He said he visited seven forecourts that had no fuel before eventually finding one where he could fill up as he hit out at Boris Johnson’s government, who he accused of attempting to play down the crisis.

“The government tell us that the fuel crisis is easing…I went to 7 petrol stations this morning and there was no fuel at any of them,” he complained.

“Was then hit by a van whilst stationary at a roundabout. Great start to the day!”

He did not disclose whether he had suffered any injuries as a result of the clash.

Mr Farage was instrumental in the campaign to take the UK out of the EU but quit politics in March this year having never won a seat in parliament.

In July, he joined the beleaguered GB News channel as executives attempted to bump up tumbling ratings following a row over a presenter taking the knee live on air.

As the UK prepared to leave the bloc, Mr Farage rubbished a September 2019 report that set out “worst-case scenarios” for when London cut ties with Brussels.

Operation Yellowhammer warned that, in a no-deal Brexit scenario, food and medicine supplies could run out.

Responding to the report in an interview with ITV’s Peston show, Mr Farage claimed the warning was “project fear mark two”, a reference to the remain campaign’s warnings that the economy would be badly affected by Brexit.

“I’ve never seen such utter tosh in my life... There are over 100 active ports in the UK, there won’t be food shortages,” he told the programme.  “It’s utter rubbish - Project Fear Mark 2... it should be utterly, completely, totally disregarded!”

Britain is currently in the grip of a supply chain crisis which has affected a wide range of products, from food to petrol supplies, although shortages of the latter have been exacerbated by panic-buying.

Britain’s departure from the EU has been blamed as one of the factors contributing to the crisis, as the country experiences a shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers.

Thousands of HGV drivers from Europe who left the UK after Brexit or during the pandemic are now unable to return as easily due to new immigration rules.

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