Nigel Farage blasts Brussels after police order shut down of National Conservative Conference

Nigel Farage has accused Brussels of “cancel culture” after police in the city moved to shut down the National Conservatism Conference.

The former Ukip leader - who served as an MEP for 21 years - was due to give a keynote speech at the gathering on Tuesday 16 April.

According to a report on social media, police arrived while Mr Farage was addressing the event, giving attendees 15 minutes to leave the venue.

In a post on X before his speech, Mr Farage said that “it comes as no surprise” that Brussels have “done their best” to stop the conference from taking place.

“Cancel culture, alive and well,” he added.

Police Bruxelles Nord provided the following statement to The Independent: “Yesterday, the Mayor of Saint-Josse took a decision to prohibit the NatCon conference.

“For operational reasons, in order to execute this order, our police department prohibited access to the conference yesterday from 1 pm. The Council of State suspended the Mayor’s decree yesterday evening.

“Access to the conference has therefore been restored and it is taking place normally. Our mission is to maintain public order and the security of certain people present on site.”