NIGEL Farage has lambasted”lockdown lunacy” after he was paid a visit by police officers over repeated trips to the South East coast during lockdown.

Officers knocked on the politician’s door and advised him on essential travel after receiving a complaint over his recent journeys to Fairlight, Hastings and, most recently, Dover to film a series of short videos on immigration.

Mr Farage blasted the force’s intervention as “lockdown lunacy” and said: “Two police officers just knocked on my door to advise me on essential travel.

“They had received a complaint that I had been to Dover to report on the illegal migrant scandal taking place. What a total waste of time and money.”

Critics slammed the Brexit Party leader for flouting social distancing measures on the weekend of April 25 when he travelled to Sussex to film a report on immigration.

The Argus:

A video posted by the 56-year-old on social media showed him interviewing people in Hastings and talking to camera on Fairlight beach.

One viewer asked, “does the law not apply to you,” while another accused Mr Farage of “encouraging breaking lockdown rules by his actions”.

Sussex Police said they had “been made aware of the video”.

The force said: “Our approach is to engage at the time that people are away from home to explain the stay at home advice. We remind everyone to keep up their efforts following the Government guidelines.”

But a spokesman for the Brexit Party said Mr Farage was acting in his role as a broadcaster - who have key worker status as they provide public service information.

Journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting are considered to be key workers, according to government guidance.

But Downing Street has since clarified the rules to say it only applied to those “informing and communicating with the public on the coronavirus crisis”.

The Argus:

Yet, despite the backlash to his first visit, the former UKIP leader returned to the South East yesterday to film another report on immigration - this time in Dover.

He acknowledged that “there were a lot of press reports over the weekend suggesting I was quite wrong to have gone to East Sussex last week”.

But he said: “It’s Monday morning, I’m here in Dover and that’s because I’m not going to let this story drop.”

Mr Farage later added: “I witnessed first hand our Border Force acting as a taxi service for illegal migrants in Dover this morning.

"This scandal continues and people have got every right to be angry about it.”

But police took exception to his two trips to the South East Coast and paid the politician a visit at his home.

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