Afghan national jailed for TikTok threat to kill Reform UK leader Nigel Farage

An Afghan man was jailed for five years on Tuesday for threatening on TikTok to kill Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Fayaz Khan, 26, was found guilty last week at London's Southwark Crown Court of making a threat to kill Farage in a video posted on TikTok in October 2024.

In a video referencing Farage, Khan said "pop, pop, pop" while making gun gestures before pointing to a tattoo of an AK-47 assault rifle on his face.

Khan, who arrived in the UK on a small boat, posted the video while making his way from Sweden to the UK. He was one of 65 migrants who crossed the English Channel last October in a small rigid inflatable boat.

Judge Karen Steyn sentenced Khan on Tuesday for making a threat to kill and a separate count of attempting to enter the UK illegally, to which he had pleaded guilty.

Farage, who attended the sentencing, told the court last week that the video was "pretty chilling". The lawmaker said he was "genuinely worried" Khan was coming "to shoot him".

"As a Member of Parliament and the leader of a political party, Mr Farage is a public figure and he understands that with the role comes public scrutiny, criticism and, sadly, at times abuse," Steyn said in her sentencing remarks.

"But your video was not mere abuse: it was a threat to kill with a firearm and it was, as Mr Farage put it, 'pretty chilling'," she added.

After Khan was sentenced, he shouted at the judge and Farage, claiming that the Reform UK leader wanted to "use me because you want to be prime minister".

Speaking after the court proceedings were finished, Farage said he was "happy with the win". However, he also said he was "deeply, deeply concerned" that Khan would be freed in 18 months, referring to the practice of releasing prisoners after a third of their terms.

During the trial, prosecutors said Khan had given British police the name Fayaz Khan and said he was 26, but that Swedish authorities believed he was called Fayaz Husseini and was 31.

Steyn, the sentencing judge, said she was sure Khan had given a false name because he had a criminal record in Sweden and was facing a six-month jail sentence.

Between 2019 and 2024, Khan aka Husseini was convicted of 17 criminal offences, including carrying a knife, threatening behaviour and vandalism.