Nigel Farage has been tricked into recording a Cameo video praising Ian Watkins, the former Lostprophets singer and convicted child sexual abuser who died in prison last year. In the 27-second clip, the Reform UK leader calls Watkins “a good man, a really good guy” who “loved his children” and claims to have been in contact with him.
The prank was orchestrated by a user named John Smith, who paid £98 for the video. Farage, who charges from £78.45 for personalised messages on the platform, appears to have been unaware of Watkins’ crimes. Smith said he was “concerned that he could not see through my frankly paper-thin deception”.
When approached by Metro, Farage dismissed the incident, saying: “Thank him for the money. There are lots of Ian Watkins. Tell him to send more. I did alter his request.” This is not the first time Farage has been pranked; in 2021, he unwittingly recorded a birthday message ending with “Up the Ra!”, a reference to the IRA.
Smith criticised Farage for failing to perform even a basic check on the request, questioning what he might do for paymasters with deeper pockets. “I suspect he has no actual ideology and will follow the path to power that offers the least resistance,” Smith said.
Watkins was serving a 29-year sentence for offences including the attempted rape of a child and possession of extreme child abuse material when he was stabbed to death at HMP Wakefield in October. Two men have been charged in connection with his death.
