Two people have been arrested after Nigel Farage had a drink thrown over him while launching his personal election campaign in Clacton.
The Reform UK leader was leaving a pub after carrying out media interviews when a woman appeared to launch a McDonald's banana milkshake over his face and suit jacket.
Essex Police said a 25-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assault.
While making the arrest, the force said a man was also detained on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.
"Both individuals remain in custody for questioning," a police spokesperson said.
The politician was walking out of the Moon & Starfish - part of the JD Wetherspoon pub chain run by prominent Brexiteer Tim Martin - to the Reform UK party bus at the time.
Mr Farage, who had milkshake thrown over him in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2019, appeared to make light of the incident later, posing with a tray of four milkshakes in the nearby Jaywick.
The 60-year-old previously said he would not stand in the general election, before making a U-turn on Monday, when he announced his candidacy in the Essex seat.
The constituency, which became the first seat in the UK to elect a UK Independence Party (UKIP) MP in 2014, had a Conservative majority of 24,702 at the last general election in 2019 when Giles Watling was re-elected.
Prior to the milkshake incident, Mr Farage said "you will no longer be ignored" as he spoke on the seafront.
"I hope that having a national figure representing this constituency will put Clacton on the map," said Mr Farage, who is formerly the leader of UKIP and the Brexit Party.
"I will stand up and fight for you... send me to Parliament to be a bloody nuisance."
He added that the promises of Brexit had been "betrayed" and the Conservatives should "pay a big price" for that.
The Tendring district, which includes the parliamentary constituency, voted 69.5% in favour of leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum and Clacton found itself centre stage in national politics in the run-up.
Clacton's former pro-Brexit Conservative MP Douglas Carswell defected to UKIP in 2014, resigned his seat and then won it for his new party in a by-election that year - and retained it in the general election in 2015.
'Altar of his vanity'
After the referendum, Giles Watling reclaimed the seat for the Conservatives in 2017 with a 15,828 majority, and increased his majority in 2019. He won a reselection contest within the local Conservative Association last year.
Mr Watling told BBC Essex that Mr Farage "doesn't give two hoots" about the constituency.
"This is all about Nigel, as ever," said the former actor, who appeared in 1980s BBC sitcom Bread.
"I don’t want to see the residents of Clacton-on-Sea taken for granted and sacrificed on the altar of his vanity."
Mr Watling felt it was his job to "transform Clacton's future" by using government funding he had secured.
Labour candidate Jovan Owusu-Nepaul said Britain was "crying out for change" as the party fought every seat.
"The only way to bring about change is by voting the Tories out and electing a new Labour government," he said.
Analysis
By Ben Schofield, BBC political correspondent, East of England
Even before Mr Farage’s "emergency" press conference on Monday, bookies had slashed the odds of Reform UK winning Clacton, which also includes the other seaside towns of Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze as well as a rural hinterland of villages.
Without hearing the announcement, punters were apparently predicting that Mr Farage would change his mind about standing in a constituency, as well as the seat he would choose.
But what issues could Clacton's next MP face?
It had one of the highest pro-Leave votes in the country in the Brexit referendum.
While parts of the constituency are relatively affluent, such as Frinton, it is also home to some of the UK’s most deprived areas and the local economy is heavily reliant on tourism, with almost one million people visiting Clacton Pier in 2022 for example.
Average weekly earnings of those living in the constituency were £593 in 2023, far behind the Eastern average of £706. A higher proportion of 16-64 year olds claim out-of-work benefits than the regional average – 4.9% in April 2024 compared to 3.1%.