Nigel Farage has won the Clacton byelection amid contested claims he was told by police not to attend the election count due to a “credible threat” against him.The Reform UK leader pre-empted the official declaration by telling supporters he had won “fairly convincingly” and the result on the hottest day of the year was an “overwhelming endorsement” of him.However, he said he would not attend the official declaration of the result at Clacton Leisure Centre as Essex Police had told him about an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result”.A Reform UK spokesperson later said: “Essex Police advised Nigel not to attend the count tonight due to a credible threat against him.”However, the Press Association understands Essex Police did not tell Farage, or any other candidate, not to attend the count.A spokesperson for Essex Police said: “We have a proportionate and robust policing operation to ensure the safety and security of all participants in the count.”Farage told supporters at an all-night “Farage-fest” event organised by Reform in Essex he would not be attending the count. “I’m not scared of these people, far from it,” he said. ”But I’m damned if I’m going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I’ve tried to fight for, and you’ve tried to fight for, and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies, and I will not sadly be attending the count.”Farage was due to make what was billed as a “major speech” in Clacton at 10.30am on Friday, but Reform cancelled it, saying he had “already commented on the expected result of the byelection”.Essex Police directed inquiries on Farage’s claims to Tendring district council, which was running the election.In his speech, Farage said, hours before the result was formally declared: “The verdict is now in, and it is a convincing, overwhelming win with more votes than we got in the general election of 2024.”He added: “Today the voters in Clacton have stuck up two fingers to the entire political establishment.”He earlier told GB News: “Look, this is an overwhelming endorsement of me. I have had enough of being judged by mainstream media, being called a criminal.“Do you know, if I made one sin, if I haven’t filled in a piece of paper, I’ve broken no law, I’ve broken no tax law, I’ve taken no public money, I don’t even own a motorhome.”The byelection was triggered by Farage’s resignation over scrutiny of donations from cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne. Labour and the Conservatives said his victory would not draw a line under the controversy.A record 34 candidates were standing, with satirical candidate Count Binface appearing to be Farage’s main challenger, after the other mainstream parties declined to stand.Speaking to Sky News, Count Binface, a character created by comedian Jonathan David Harvey, referred to the possibility of a second byelection in the seat if Farage is found to have broken parliamentary rules.He said: “You just said at the beginning of this interview that Nigel Farage is claiming victory, but in that case it’s going to be a two-legged match like the Carabao Cup or the cold war, because we’re going to be back again in a few weeks aren’t we? We’ll see what happens then.”He added: “Even if I got to 12 per cent, so one-in-eight people in Clacton would rather vote for a space warrior shaped like a bin than Nigel Farage.”Turnout was 44.37 per cent, just over 14 per cent down from the 2024 general election.Labour chair Bridget Phillipson said: “Nigel Farage spent 38 days fighting a bin in his most desperate attempt yet to deflect attention from the sleaze and scandals engulfing him and his party.“Farage may succeed in his runoff against a bin, but he can’t run from the truth forever. The list of unanswered questions about the £5 million gift he hid from the public, his support from a convicted fraudster, and the mountain of other scandals he and Reform are facing isn’t going away.”A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage called this fake byelection in a desperate attempt to draw a line under the questions surrounding his fishy £5 million donation.“Whatever the outcome on Friday, this stunt has not done that.”Before quitting Westminster, Farage was being investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg over a £5 million gift from Harborne, which he received before taking his seat in the Commons.Under Commons rules, new MPs are required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.That investigation was paused when Farage resigned his seat but will resume if he wins the byelection – as bookmakers have made him the firm favourite to do.Farage could also face an investigation over support provided by George Cottrell, a long-term ally.If he is found to have broken the rules and a suspension of more than 10 days is imposed, it could trigger a recall petition and the prospect of Farage facing a second byelection. - PA