“she looked like she was going to do herself an injury,”
Police have appealed for a woman to come forward after footage showed her being grabbed by the hair and head during a disorder at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham.
The incident happened as protesters disrupted Nigel Farage’s keynote speech at the party’s annual conference at the NEC on September 4, 2026.
Videos shared on social media appeared to show audience members pulling the protester backwards as security moved in to remove demonstrators from the venue.
West Midlands Police said it was aware of the footage and confirmed that no complaint had yet been made.
The force said: “We’re aware of a video circulating from the Reform UK Conference showing an incident with a protester.
“We haven’t received a complaint but would ask the woman involved to come forward and contact us so we can carry out enquiries.”
The disruption came shortly after a protest banner was displayed during a speech by Reform deputy leader Richard Tice.
The banner referred to controversy surrounding a donation linked to Farage and was later removed.
During his own speech, Farage reacted to one heckler by saying: “We’ve got a screamer. Oh dear.”
He later told delegates: “That poor young girl, she looked like she was going to do herself an injury,” before adding: “Boring, boring, boring.”
Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, was questioned about reports that members of the audience had used violence against protesters.
Yusuf said:
“On the question of whether I condemn people punching people, yes, I condemn people punching people.”
Activist group Climate Resistance claimed responsibility for the protest and said it was “horrified at the violence” directed towards demonstrators.
The group said the woman involved was considering whether to contact police.
It added that protesters should be able to challenge Farage “without fear for their safety”.
The conference also faced disruption from Greenpeace, which unfurled a banner during Tice’s speech reading: “Collect £5 million, burn the planet.”
The banner depicted Farage wearing a top hat and carrying a bag of money, and remained visible for several minutes before being taken down.
Farage later told delegates that the start of his keynote speech had been delayed because of a “security alert”.
“Protect our women”
Unless she disagrees, obviously. In which case she’s fair game to be brutally assaulted as Nigel Farage watches and laughs. pic.twitter.com/L9bTNluV8W
— Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) September 5, 2026
Some reports suggested counter-terrorism officers had prevented him from taking the stage.
However, West Midlands Police rejected that account and said the delay had been a decision made by Reform UK.
The force added that Counter Terrorism Policing had “no involvement in the delivery of the Reform UK Party Conference 2026”.
Police enquiries into the incident involving the protester are expected to continue if the woman comes forward.
