Woman, 25, charged with assault after throwing milkshake at Reform UK leader Nigel Farage

A woman has been charged with assault by beating and criminal damage after a milkshake was thrown at Reform UK leader Nigel Farage following a campaign event in Clacton, Essex, on Tuesday.

Essex Police said Victoria Thomas Bowen, 25, will appear at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday July 2. The force said the charges relate to an incident in which a drink was thrown at a man in the area of Marine Parade East, Clacton, at around 2.10pm on Tuesday. A 44-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker has been released and will face no further action.

Farage had the drink thrown at him as he launched his his election candidacy at Clacton Pier. The milkshake was thrown at him as he exited the Moon and Starfish pub in the area, after speaking to reporters in the pub. He was then seen boarding his campaign bus with the drink splattered on his suit.

On Monday, the former Ukip and Brexit party leader said he would stand in Clacton after changing his mind while spending time on the campaign trail, claiming that he did not want to let his supporters down. He also took over as leader of Reform UK from Richard Tice, pledging to stay in post for a full parliamentary term.

Farage's campaign in Clacton, the first constituency to elect a UKIP MP in 2014 and currently holding a Tory majority of 24,702, marks his eighth attempt to enter Parliament. He has been unsuccessful in his previous seven attempts.

Responding to the incident, Tice said: “The juvenile moron who threw a drink over Nigel has just gained us hundreds of thousands more votes. We will not be bullied or threatened off the campaign trail.”