What was claimed
A video shows Nigel Farage rehearsing a “grief walk” following Ann Widdecombe’s death.
Our verdict
False. This clip predates Ms Widdecombe’s recent death and shows Mr Farage walking in Clacton-on-Sea in July 2024.
Viral clip does not show Nigel Farage rehearsing a ‘grief walk’ after Ann Widdecombe’s death
A clip of Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage is circulating on social media with false claims it shows him “practising his Ann Widdecombe grief walk”.
Former Conservative minister and Reform’s immigration and justice spokesperson Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her home in Devon on 9 July 2026, having sustained serious injuries.
In the video, Mr Farage can be seen walking down a road before turning around and walking back. One post with more than three thousand likes shares the clip with the caption: “This is actually real. The phony goul [sic], Nigel Farage, practising his Ann Widdecombe grief walk for his PR stunt. How low will these people go?”
But this clip predates Ms Widdecombe’s death. It actually shows Mr Farage walking around his constituency on polling day during the 2024 General Election. Sky News shared a higher quality version of the clip on 4 July 2024 with overlaid text saying “he has been seen strolling around Clacton-on-Sea enjoying an ice cream”.
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In recent photos of Mr Farage laying a wreath at Ms Widdecombe’s house, he can be seen wearing different shoes and a darker suit and tie than in the video circulating on Facebook.
In the investigation into Ms Widdecombe’s death, a 28-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder has been re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Misleading images and videos are commonplace on social media, especially following significant news events. It’s important to first consider whether social media content like this comes from a verifiable and trustworthy source before sharing it. Our Full Fact toolkit can help you do this.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because this video predates Ann Widdecombe’s death.