Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden has accused Nigel Farage of shoving her at the State Opening of Parliament in May, after the Reform UK leader cited a previous “physical altercation” to explain his absence from Wednesday’s Budget. Reform disputes her account, while the available footage does not establish what happened.

The dispute emerged nearly six months after the alleged incident. Farage said he had wanted to avoid another confrontation after discovering that his prayer card, used by MPs to reserve seats in the Commons, had been removed.

“At the State Opening of Parliament, I got involved… I didn't want to… but I got involved in a physical altercation with an MP in the chamber,” he said. He added that he had neither complained nor made a fuss.

Voaden, the MP for South Devon, subsequently identified herself as the colleague concerned. She said Farage had missed his opportunity to join other party leaders in the procession to the Lords and, rather than queue, had shoved her aside on a staircase to get past. She described herself as “shocked and bloody angry”.

“Such behaviour is unacceptable in any workplace, and it has no place in the House of Commons,” she said.

Voaden also said Farage had been ordered to apologise after she complained to Commons authorities. The House of Commons would not comment on that claim, leaving it unconfirmed.

A Reform source accused the Liberal Democrats of “lying”, arguing that video disproved their account. The footage shows Farage and Voaden leaving the chamber together, with no visible evidence of a major altercation. Voaden, however, said the alleged incident was not shown in that clip. It does not appear to have been captured on Parliament’s official feed either. The footage therefore does not resolve the competing accounts.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said her understanding was that Farage had physically shoved a female MP and that a male colleague had challenged him. She explicitly acknowledged that she had not witnessed it. Reform MP Robert Jenrick dismissed the row, saying: “I am sick to death of these pathetic Westminster debates.”

Commons officials offered a separate explanation for the removed prayer card: it did not “display a valid date stamp” and was taken away under the usual chamber protocol. That establishes the authorities’ stated reason for removing it, but leaves the alleged confrontation unresolved.