Absent Farage found frolicking in France

With British politics partying like it’s 2016 this week – debating whether Sir Keir’s gleaming new EU deal was a supermarket-basket-slashing boost to the nation’s coffers or a betrayal worthy of Lord Haw-Haw himself – one man has been conspicuous by his absence.

Other than some characteristically hyperbolic comments delivered via his employer, GB News, Reform leader Nigel Farage has been curiously quiet on the airwaves, and failed to attend yesterday’s debate on the deal in the House of Commons.

Where was the man who has devoted his entire political career to putting as much distance between Britain and the continent as possible? And how did he manage to vanish the week of a major UK-EU summit, the date of which has been public knowledge for months?

After stonewalling questions, Farage finally admitted last night that he was on holiday in, ahem, France, issuing a statement saying: “There seems to be great consternation in the press that they have not seen me for 48 hours. Well, they will have to wait some time,.

“After months of touring the UK in the run-up to our hugely successful local election campaign I will resume travelling the country next week as Reform moves to the next stage. Meanwhile I am having my first overseas break for three years, the Jungle [his stint on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!] excepted.”

This is not entirely true: according to the House of Commons’ register of members’ interests, the MP for Clacton has made at least nine trips abroad, including eight to the US, since last year’s general election, with many of them either funded by friendly donors or made for paid work such as delivering speeches. These included a visit to the US in support of Donald Trump in August last year where flights and accommodation for Farage and one staffer cost nearly £33,000, and a £27,000 trip to attend Trump’s inauguration in January this year.

Still, if Farage really needs a break, it would be churlish to expect him to wait until the House rises for its Whitsun recess. That doesn’t start until, er, tomorrow and lasts until June 2.