Nigel Farage today claimed he skipped watching the Budget in the House of Commons as he feared ending up in 'another physical altercation'.
The Reform UK leader suggested his absence from Parliament for Chancellor John Healey's statement was because he had decided to 'avoid conflict'.
This was after a previous 'physical altercation' with an unnamed MP in the Commons chamber at the State Opening of Parliament in May this year.
He added that his absence from Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday - which took place just before the Budget - was also due to his concerns about a bust-up.
Mr Farage claimed his prayer card, which is used by MPs to reserve their seats in the Commons chamber, had been 'removed' earlier in the day.
The Reform leader said he decided to instead watch the Budget from his party's offices with a team of advisers.
Nigel Farage today claimed he skipped watching the Budget in the House of Commons as he feared ending up in 'another physical altercation'
The Reform UK leader suggested his absence from Parliament for Chancellor John Healey's statement was because he had decided to 'avoid conflict'
Mr Farage addressed questions about his absence from the Commons during a press conference in Westminster after Mr Healey's statement.
'At the State Opening of Parliament, I didn't want to but I got involved in a physical altercation with an MP in the chamber,' he said.
'I didn't make a fuss about it, I didn't complain. But I could see, given that my prayer card had been removed, I was heading towards another physical altercation.
'And just sometimes it's better to avoid conflict - that's one reason.
'The second reason is, actually, I sat going through the Budget with our team of economists in the office so I actually had the time to go through it line by line.
'So it was actually more useful to me to sit in the office with a team of economists around me.
'I was going to go to PMQs but I could see potential conflict and being a very quiet, shy, modest kind of person, I decided to give it a wide berth.'
Sources told the Mail that Mr Farage did not attend prayers in the Commons at 11.30am on Wednesday and did not approach House staff about a seat reservation.
Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde branded Mr Farage's claims as 'fake news', posting on X: 'I was 2nd in the MPs' queue from 7.30am this morning (behind Des Swayne) for a prayer card to reserve a seat and there was no sign of Farage then.
'I didn't see him come to prayers at 11.30am to come and claim a seat then either. You snooze, you lose.'
A Commons spokesperson said: 'There are clear and long-established arrangements for Members to reserve their own seats in the chamber using prayer cards displaying a valid date stamp.
'Today, a prayer card placed on a seat did not display a valid date stamp and was removed in line with the usual chamber protocol.'
