Nigel Farage said police would “have to drag me off stage” after officers moved to shut down the National Conservatism conference in Brussels.

Local officials arrived as the former Brexit Party leader was finishing a speech at the event, which is also due to hear from Hungary’s pro-Putin leader Viktor Orbán and two Conservative MPs.

Politics Live: Police turn up at conference while Nigel Farage on stage

Emir Kir, the mayor of Brussels district Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, said he had issued an order banning the conference from taking place on Tuesday “to guarantee public safety”.

He added: “In Etterbeek, in Brussels City and in Saint-Josse, the far-right is not welcome.”

Tory MP Suella Braverman, who was sacked as home secretary last year, was also due to speak on Tuesday as well as Conservative MP Miriam Cates.

However, police officers arrived two hours into the event near the city’s European Quarter to inform organisers it must close.

Nigel Farage wished happy 60th birthday by Donald Trump

Row between Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s Reform – as Tory chair calls Richard Tice a ‘threatening bully’

Farage fires new salvo at Hunt over plan for NatWest share sale

Sky’s political correspondent Darren McCaffery, who is at the scene, said police initially told the venue owner that if the building isn’t evacuated they will start removing people.

However, they later said they “would not be dragging people out” and instead the tactic was to stop anyone new entering the venue.

He said this is the third venue chosen by conference organisers, after two others cancelled at the last minute “due to political pressure”.

Mr Farage said that police would have to “drag me off stage” and it’s a “pity” they didn’t.

He said the conference attendees were “respectable people” and “there’s no protest of significance” happening against it.

“It’s about closing down an ideology,” he said.

Ms Braverman accused police of trying to “undermine and denigrate” free speech, saying she was there to talk about “issues that matter”, including border security.

Rishi Sunak had faced pressure to block her attendance at the conference, with Labour shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth urging him to stop the former home secretary “giving oxygen to these divisive and dangerous individuals”.

Under Boris Johnson’s government in 2020, Conservative backbencher Daniel Kawczynski was reprimanded for attending a National Conservatism conference in Rome, with a Tory spokesman condemning the views of some other speakers, including Mr Orban.

Both Ms Braverman and Ms Cates addressed the National Conservatism conference in London last year, which was disrupted by protesters.

Related posts:

Furlough will be extended until end of September, chancellor to announce National living wage to increase from £8.91 to £9.50 an hour Rise in national living wage may not be an early Christmas present, but it will be welcomed by many low-paid workers Parliament to review rules on babies after MP reprimanded for taking young son into chamber PM says France needs to do more to tackle migrant crossings after latest tragedy Liz Truss conjured enemy alliance to distract from the Tory rebels within | Beth Rigby Sturgeon has dominated politics in Scotland – the SNP will struggle to replace her Indyref2 is in a perilous position with no clear successor for Sturgeon ‘Cronyism and backroom deals’: Labour calls for Teesside development probe Union chiefs say Starmer’s vision ‘not bold enough’ to lead Britain out of ‘crisis’ Disgraced ex-Tory MP’s partner chosen to run as his replacement in by-election UK’s readiness for war in doubt, say MPs – as HMS Queen Elizabeth set to miss NATO drills