Nigel Farage’s chauffeur-driven automobile caught utilizing disabled parking for M&S store

Ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage has sparked outrage after being spotted using a disabled parking spot for 45 minutes to go shopping at M&S.

Pictures taken last month show the former Ukip leader getting out of a white BMW on North Wharf Road, next to St Mary’s Hospital, in Paddington, London, which is clearly marked as disabled parking only.

His chauffeur walked Mr Farage, the founder of Reform UK, to a building before waiting while smoking cigarettes and buying food on April 22, according to an eyewitness. Mr Farage then left the building and the pair then stopped off at M&S before returning to the car and leaving.

An eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It’s outrageous. Everyone else has to obey the rules but he can just park in a disabled bay when he makes rules for everybody else.” According to the witness, Mr Farage’s driver was parked in the bay from approximately 10.43am to 11.29am.

Westminster City Council confirmed pick up and set down is permitted in the parking bay – as long as it doesn’t take longer than two minutes – but stated that “subsequent waiting is not allowed without a disabled badge being on display or further exemption”. A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: “The council monitors these bays to ensure drivers are complying with the rules.”

The witness said: “I wasn’t too happy – there were other people trying to look for parking spaces, even to the point where they were pulling up beside me. It was busy so lots of people were looking over at that disabled spot then driving off. The chauffeur driver saw it then I just saw him reverse into the parking spot.

“Nigel Farage got out and walked into a building opposite. The driver walked him into the building, then came out, gone over to another building across road and eaten food. The driver was smoking cigs, spitting on the floor, they had no care where they were parking.” The witness said Mr Farage came back with an M&S bag in his hand which he didn’t appear to have before. “He must have popped to the shops after his meeting,” they said.

The Mirror has contacted Mr Farage for comment. He has previously spoke out about refusing to be registered as partially disabled after major surgery following a near-fatal plane crash in 2010.

Speaking in September last year, the GB News presenter said: “After the aeroplane crash that I was involved in in 2010, when the x-rays came back, and I had major surgery, the neurosurgeon said, ‘well, Nigel, with your condition if you want, I can sign you off as partially disabled’ and I told him politely, where to go. You see, I think for many people, this is about a state of mind.”

It comes after months of speculation over whether Mr Farage will make a return to frontline politics for the general election after stepping back from leading Reform UK in 2021. The right-wing party returned just two councillors in last week’s local elections and missed snatching second place from the Tories at the Blackpool South by-election by just 117 votes.

But gloomy Tory MPs are worried the ex-Ukip leader’s return to a prominent role could trigger the Conservatives to sink even lower in the national polls and below Reform UK.

The Mirror reported last week Mr Farage, who appeared in the I’m A Celebrity jungle last year, was hatching plans to front the party’s campaign at the election. A source said: “Nigel has been rumoured to be considering a return to politics since he appeared in the jungle last year. But he has always been very cagey about his plans and it is only in recent weeks that he has begun discussing a return.

They added: “There were those who doubted he would come back and felt his I’m A Celeb appearance was all about exposure for himself. But he is well aware what those weeks of national TV exposure have done for him – and the position he could be in to help Reform.”

But Mr Farage, who is currently in the US and friend of the disgraced ex-President Donald Trump, told the Daily Telegraph last night: “Yes, we’ve got an election year, but the biggest election in the world is taking place here. While I’m not ruling out anything in the UK completely, I think where I am this week is an indication of my thinking.”