On General Election day in May 2010, as most readers will know, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage survived, along with the pilot, when a light aircraft towing a UKIP banner as part of Farage’s parliamentary election campaign crashed into a Northamptonshire field, after the banner became entangled and caused the plane to nosedive.
Just over a year later the pilot, Justin Adams, was found guilty of making threats against Mr Farage and received a 2-year community sentence, after his business and personal life collapsed as a result of the crash and subsequent investigation, as his insurance payout was delayed by the ongoing Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) investigation.
18 months after that, Mr Adams was found dead at home in what police called ‘no suspicious circumstances’, after accusing Mr Farage of ‘ruining his life’.
That’s more or less all that’s known in the public domain, but today the SKWAWKBOX brings you eyewitness testimony that – if true – suggests that:
- Mr Adams’ accusation was not merely the talk of a person suffering depression and alcohol addiction
- Mr Farage first involved the police by reporting ‘threats’ when no threats had been made
- the pilot had informed Farage that the banner was not suitable for the aircraft and was overruled, making Farage at least partially responsible for the crash
The eyewitness – who will not be named here – has significant credibility, having worked closely with Mr Farage over a lengthy period as a party official and having also stood as a UKIP parliamentary candidate.
In the interview recounted below, ‘S’ is the SKWAWKBOX and ‘W’ is the witness.
S: What can you tell me about the circumstances surrounding the crash in 2010?
W: Nigel stood against the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, in the 2010 General Election and decided it would be a great idea to fly around with this banner. The pilot told him it wasn’t safe but Nigel has a way of getting what he wants. You know what happened after that.
S: And after that Mr Adams had trouble getting a payout from his insurance because of the investigation?
W: It was still going on by February 2011. That February, Nigel was on his way to his Mumsnet appearance. As soon as we set off from his UKIP office at the old Tory HQ in Smith’s Square – it was never a barn near Lyminster – Nigel insisted we stopped so he could have a Guinness. It was 9.30 am, so he turned up at the Mumsnet Towers smelling of booze early in the morning.
His mobile phone rang and it was the pilot Justin Adams. Adams said “Listen Nigel, I know you collected the payment from the insurance and got a cheque for £56,000. I did not get anything because you are dragging your feet and refusing to tell the CAA that your banner caused the crash. Can you please call them?”
S: So there was no threat from Justin Adams at that time?
W: None at all at that time. Later, yes, when he got even more desperate, but not then.
S: What happened next?
W: We sat down, Fuller was there too and Nigel was complaining that Justin was annoying him with his calls and saying he was going to report him to the police for threats. Clearly this was ridiculous, saying “please call the CAA” is not a threat, but he actually went through with it and called 999 on Kentish Town High Street on the way back from the Mumsnet thing as we were walking down Kentish Town High Street and reported the ‘threat’, so the police involvement kicked off well before there were any actual threats. Justin then became destitute, there was the court case and then his death.
And there was Nigel, talking to all the media about tragic it was, how sad he was about it and even blaming mental health authorities for not doing enough.
S: So you feel that Nigel Farage contributed to Mr Adams’ suicide?
W: Without question.
It must be stressed that these are allegations and not proven, but the significant part played by Nigel Farage in a referendum result that has affected the current and future course of the whole UK – and possibly, because of the SNP’s determination to remain in the EU, it’s very existence – means that the existence of the allegations is of extreme public interest.
If true, they would cast a bleak light on the man who popularised – with the complicity of the media – the idea of a UK outside the EU.
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Reblogged this on sdbast.
All sounds likely knowing the kind of person Farage is. You only have to listen to his radio call in show to hear how he can turn in an instant.
Completely irrelevant to Brexit. Only suitable for the gossip column of the Daily Mail
If the pilot had any concerns about the banner he had the option to refuse.
Of course. Can you read? And if you have any experience of people at all, you’ll know some people are good at manipulating others so that ‘options’ become irrelevant.