Reform candidate for Cornwall parliamentary election ‘attacked’

A Reform UK candidate was attacked during his election campaign in Falmouth, the party’s chairman said.

Richard Tice said in a Video posted on Xformerly known as Twitter, said Truro and Falmouth candidate Steve Rubidge was the victim of a “nasty attack” on Saturday and had a bag stolen.

Devon and Cornwall Police said they were investigating an incident that occurred at around 1.15pm BST in Grove Place during the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival.

Mr Rubidge is one of seven candidates running in the constituency on July 4.

In his social media video, Mr Tice said he was “horrified” after hearing about the alleged incident.

He said: “This is not an opportunity for democratic debate and discussion.”

“We can disagree, but we don’t fight each other. That’s not what our democracy is about.”

He added that Mr Rubidge went on the campaign trail for another four hours on Saturday.

A police spokesman said: “Police were informed on Saturday 15 June of reports that a man had been assaulted in Grove Place, Falmouth.

“Investigations are currently underway to clarify the circumstances of the incident.”

They added that anyone with information about the incident should contact investigating officers.

The incident involving Mr Rubidge is not the first alleged attack on a member of Reform UK during the election campaign.

The full list of candidates in the Truro and Falmouth constituency is:

You can use the … BBC News Search Tool to find out which constituency you are in, who is running in your area and which polling station you can vote at.