Pocock, Binface & nobodies vs Farage: defamation before UK High Court
A Letter of Claim has been sent to Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK in relation to the widely quoted defamation on the night of the Clacton-on-Sea by-election in 2026.
One of the key remedies sought is a sum of compensation of five million pounds to be paid to each of the rival candidates disparaged in news reports about "nobodies".
We are currently looking for a defamation lawyer to advance the claim on our behalf.
Nobody, absolutely nobody, is a nobody
A graphic from the SBS News report.
Here is a full copy of the Letter of Claim:
From: Daniel Pocock <daniel@pocock.pro>
To: Nigel Farage <clacton@reformuk.com>
CC: [ other candidates ]
Subject: Nigel Farage / Letter of Claim / defamation, 13/14 August 2026
Attn: Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK
Dear Mr Farage,
This letter of claim is being sent to you as part of the pre-trial protocol for defamation proceedings in the High Court.
On the night of 13/14 August 2026, you gave a speech to Reform UK supporters claiming your rival candidates are "nobodies".
In the speech, you thanked your own supporters. You thanked the staff from Tendring District Council who administered the by-election. You did not thank your opponents or give us any acknowledgement except the assertion that we are "nobodies".
Your act of bad sportsmanship and the defamation carried more weight because you are the leader of a political party and you have been in the public eye for many years.
Your act of bad sportsmanship and the defamation was more severe due to the asymmetrical nature of your campaign budget and advantages you held as the incumbent member compared to our own campaigns. These advantages you hold are exacerbated by the first-past-the-post voting system in the UK.
While some candidates competed against you on a novelty theme, many of us competed on serious themes. Even novelty candidates raised some serious issues. Many of us showed up to campaign each day just as the community expects an elected MP to show up for work each day. Nobody, absolutely nobody, is a nobody.
In the same speech, you ask people to remember those who fought in world wars. My great grandfather came to the UK and France in World War 1. My great uncle served in the pacific in World War 2. My peers in the fellowship elected me to represent them before the German FSFE on ANZAC Day, 25 April 2017. I bravely did my job as a representative and exposed the FSFE as an example of Nigerian fraud. When I came to Clacton, you told the local community and the rest of the world I am a nobody.
Your act of bad sportsmanship and the defamation was reported in news stories the world over, from the BBC in the UK to the ABC in Australia and everything in between. The news stories typically included a list of all of our names and the word "nobodies".
I kindly request you rectify this matter within 14 days or sooner. I propose the following list of corrective measures and I invite my fellow candidates to add to this list:
- each week, Reform UK will conduct at least one Town Hall-style event on one of the policies raised by a rival candidate in the campaign. At least two of your MPs will attend each of these events and will be on stage with at least one of the candidates who raised the relevant policy issue. These events do not necessarily have to be in the same constituency.
- for 90 days, the Reform UK web site, main page, is to be replaced with an apology, the names, professions and faces of the so-called "nobodies" and links to our web sites
- up until voting closes at the next General Election, an apology will continue to be present in a prominent position on every page of the Reform UK web site
- for a period of five years, all of the rival candidates will be added to the list of unaccompanied guests / lobbyists sponsored by one of your MPs to come and go as we please in Westminster
- each rival candidate will be awarded £5 million compensation for the global embarrassment your bad sportsmanship has inflicted on us
- all of these measures will be announced to the public by way of your social media, a Reform press release and a dedicated Reform media conference where the rival candidates can share the stage with you
- you will pay for the cost of a public relations consultant to liaise with the press and have corrections added to all the stories containing the "nobodies" quote.
- resolve the pledge you made on 7 July 2026 to pay election expenses before the deadline for the rest of us to complete our election returns
- produce "nobody is a nobody" hats, t-shirts and stickers and distribute them to every home in Clacton
- use the "nobody is a nobody" phrase in all the apologies, social media and press communications about the apology
Should you fail to resolve the matter amicably within 14 days, I invite fellow candidates to join me in a class action for defamation before the King's Bench Division, Media and Communications List in the High Court.
Sincerely,
Daniel Pocock
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