Nigel Farage tricked into paying tribute to Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins
Nigel Farage has been targeted with another prank on the paid video service Cameo, this time paying tribute to the child sexual abuse offender Ian Watkins.Cameo allows fans to pay celebrities to make personalised video messages, with the Reform party leader offering his services from £78.45.In a 27-second video posted online by John Smith, who requested the clip, Farage called the former Lostprophets singer, who was killed in prison last year, “a good man, a really good guy” who “loved his children”.He pretended to know Watkins, whose victims included a baby boy, and said he was “very much in contact with me”.
It follows a similar prank in 2021 when Farage unwittingly issued a message of support to the IRA, ending a birthday message with: “Up the Ra!”When asked by Metro about the latest clip, Farage said: “Thank him for the money.There are lots of Ian Watkins.Tell him to send more.I did alter his request.”Farage’s Cameo page claims to offer fans “a unique opportunity to receive personalised messages from the former UK politician and Brexit leader”.
It adds: “His videos provide an entertaining and lighthearted way for fans to connect with him and his signature straight-talking, anti-establishment style.”Smith told the publication he had not expected Farage to film the request, which cost him £98.“Getting the video was simplicity itself, I just asked him to do a video on behalf of a late friend called Ian Watkins and his family,” he said.“I am concerned that he could not see through my frankly paper-thin deception and his willingness to do anything for money without even a rudimentary check.If he would do this for a small amount of money, what would he do for paymasters with deeper pockets?“I hope to show the world that Farage is a man who will do and say anything for whoever is paying him.
I suspect he has no actual ideology and will follow the path to power that offers the least resistance.“If I could speak directly to him I would ask why he did not do even a rudimentary check? Will he blindly accept what he is told by the Kremlin, the White House or anyone with £70 going spare for a Cameo?”Two men have been charged after Watkins bled to death when he was stabbed in the neck in October at HMP Wakefield.The former frontman was serving a 29-year custodial sentence for the attempted rape of a child, sexual assaults and possession of extreme child abuse material.The case was described by its lead detective as the “most shocking and harrowing child abuse evidence I’ve ever seen”.Smith said he did not think the prank was making light of Watkins’ crimes.
“No, I am worried that Farage’s support of Grok and its ability to generate obscene images of women and children, his giggling at PMQs yesterday makes light of these crimes.“My favourite part was the fact he knowingly lied saying ‘Ian’ was someone he knew well.If he is prepared to lie for relatively paltry sums, what is he prepared to do for larger amounts?”Farage previously faced prank callers on the LBC radio show he hosted between 2017 and 2020, including in 2019 when a caller told him on air that he was formerly a remainer until “something monumental” had changed his mind.“What was that monumental thing, Mark?” Farage asked.“I was kicked in the head by a horse,” the caller replied.
Bank of England governor calls for fightback against populism; South East Water restores service to most Kent and Sussex homes – as it happened
Time to wrap up…The governor of the Bank of England has urged the world’s leading global institutions to fight back against the rise of populism, warning it represents one of the biggest threats to improvements in living standards.In a thinly veiled response to Donald Trump’s attempts to interfere with the independence of the US Federal Reserve, Andrew Bailey said that he and the heads of other institutions had a duty to “challenge back” populist narratives.“Part of the purpose of international agencies is that from time to time they have to tell us what we don’t want to hear, let alone act upon,” he said. “Of course, they have to be accountable for the accuracy and quality of the assessment. But, accepting that, we have to call out messenger shooting
Top two bosses at City & Guilds placed on leave after bonus scandal
The two most senior executives at City & Guilds have been put on leave shortly after a scandal over millions of pounds of bonuses triggered a Charity Commission investigation into the vocational training body.The chief executive, Kirstie Donnelly, and the chief financial officer, Abid Ismail, will be “absent from work for a short period”, as its new owner, PeopleCert, commissioned an internal investigation into events before and after its acquisition of City & Guilds’ training and qualifications business.Last week, the charity watchdog launched a statutory inquiry into last year’s sale of the qualification awards business to PeopleCert, an international certification company. The investigation will examine a range of problems, including “concerns raised in public reporting relating to the sale and bonuses awarded to its executives”.The inquiry was announced after the Guardian revealed last month that City & Guilds executives received million-pound bonuses after the charity privatised its business arm
Partly AI-generated folk-pop hit barred from Sweden’s official charts
A hit song has been excluded from Sweden’s official chart after it emerged the “artist” behind it was an AI creation.I Know, You’re Not Mine – or Jag Vet, Du Är Inte Min in Swedish – by a singer called Jacub has been a streaming success in Sweden, topping the Spotify rankings.However, the Swedish music trade body has excluded the song from the official chart after learning it was AI-generated.“Jacub’s track has been excluded from Sweden’s official chart, Sverigetopplistan, which is compiled by IFPI Sweden. While the song appears on Spotify’s own charts, it does not qualify for inclusion on the official chart under the current rules,” said an IFPI Sweden spokesperson
Prominent PR firm accused of commissioning favourable changes to Wikipedia pages
A high-profile PR company founded by Keir Starmer’s communications chief has been accused of commissioning changes to Wikipedia pages to make them more favourable towards clients.Portland Communications, founded by Tim Allan, has been linked to the so-called black hat edits, sometimes referred to as “Wikilaundering”. Several changes were made to Wikipedia pages by a network of editors, allegedly controlled by a contractor working on Portland’s behalf.According to an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), Portland outsourced Wikipedia editing relating to some of its high-profile clients, including the state of Qatar.TBIJ said it had evidence of alleged Wikipedia edits made on behalf of Portland between 2016 and 2024
Testing times for English cricket | Letters
Emma John’s perceptive analysis of cricket in Australia is spot-on (England ruthlessly privatised cricket – Australia embraces it with constant public displays of affection, 9 January). I have been visiting Australia for many years – our son and his family live in Sydney. The locals, on hearing my accent, mostly respond by saying “Sorry about the cricket, mate.” It’s not in a gloating or superior way, but in a genuine sense of puzzlement at how when we have often promised a real contest we perform like a malfunctioning firework.As Emma observes, in Australia cricket is a national obsession and accessible to all, either to watch or to play
Your Guardian sport weekend: Australian Open, NFL playoffs and the Afcon final
Ease into the football weekend with our essential rolling blog. Dominic Booth buckles up to bring you breaking news and insights from around the grounds with seven Premier League fixtures, kicking off at lunchtime with the Manchester derby. Jamie Jackson will be online at Old Trafford for a live Q&A before the match, so post your questions to matchday.live@theguardian.com
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