‘Playing the ref’: how attacking the BBC became a fixture of UK elections

‘If the BBC want a fight with me on this, they can have one,’ said Nigel Farage on not being allowed to join the BBC leaders’ debate. Photograph: James Veysey/Rex/Shutterstock

Nigel Farage knows the BBC will not allow him to join its televised Sunak vs Starmer leaders’ debate later this month. But the he also knows that a battle with the BBC can be an effective political tactic.

“If the BBC want a fight with me on this, they can have one,” Farage has said.