It is not the first time the Reform UK leader has fallen for such a prank
By Max Pilley 15th January 2026
Nigel Farage and Ian Watkins. CREDIT: Geoff Caddick/Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images
Nigel Farage has been tricked into paying tribute to the late, disgraced Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins.
The leader of Reform UK issued a 30-second Cameo video on Thursday (January 15) in which he was duped into making a personal tribute to Watkins, the convicted child sex offender who was killed in Wakefield Prison in October.
AdvertisementIn the video, Farage said: “This message is to pay tribute to Ian Watkins, a good man, a really good guy who was very much in contact with me, who loved his children and will be sorely, sorely missed by them forever.”
“He will always hold a very special place in everybody’s heart,” he continued. “And remember what he always said, ‘mad lolz’ – well, I’ll tell you what, that does just about sum up the world, doesn’t it? Sorry for your grief, but please try and keep some happy memories.”
Lovely tribute from Nigel Farage pic.twitter.com/Z7cN6rwUXc
— Kunt and the Gang (@kuntandthegang) January 15, 2026
Farage has since reacted to the revelation that he had been tricked by the video, telling Metro: “Thank him for the money. There are lots of Ian Watkins. Tell him to send more. I did alter his request.”
The prankster who requested the video was John Smith, who has said he was inspired by a similar prank that Farage fell for last year in which he issued the pro-IRA slogan “up the ra”.
Recommended“Getting the video was simplicity itself, I just asked him to do a video on behalf of a late friend called Ian Watkins and his family,” Smith said. “I am concerned that he could not see through my frankly paper-thin deception and his willingness to do anything for money without even a rudimentary check.”
“If he would do this for a small amount of money, what would he do for paymasters with deeper pockets?” he added.
Watkins pleaded guilty to 13 sex offences in 2013, including the attempted rape of a baby, conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal. He was serving a 29-year sentence when he was killed, and two men were charged with his killing in November.
Farage, meanwhile, was likened to “someone you would meet at a fairground who says ‘do you want to buy one of these watches’” by John Lydon last year, while Billy Bragg took aim at him over Islamophobic comments in September.