Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage said Thursday he would ban mass Muslim prayer at historic British sites if elected prime minister, escalating a political row sparked by a public prayer event in London.
Farage was weighing in on a debate that began this week when a Muslim public prayer event in Trafalgar Square was described as an "act of domination and division" by a different politician, Conservative Party justice spokesperson Nick Timothy.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for Timothy to be fired over the remarks. Farage, a veteran campaigner for Britain's exit from the EU and friend of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been leading all national opinion polls since early last year, said events like the one in London were provocative.
"We have to get this right, you know we can't stop individuals praying, we don't want to stop individuals praying, but mass prayer is banned, mass Muslim prayer is banned in many Muslim countries in the Middle East," Farage said at the launch of his party's manifesto in Scotland.
"So, yes, we have to stop this kind of mass demonstration. This provocative demonstration in historic sites – because that is what it is."
