Nigel Farage’s claims that his car was deliberately sabotaged after a wheel came off while he was driving could simply be down to an unheeded vehicle recall, journalist James O’Brien has suggested.
The Ukip leader revealed the details of the crash to the Mail on Sunday, explaining that the nuts holding on one of his wheels had come loose while he was on a motorway near Dunkirk, France, last year. He slowed down after losing steering and put his hazards on before one of the wheels came off.
“I jumped over the wall as quickly as I bloody well could to get away from the lorries and everything,” he said. He was reportedly driving a Volvo V70.
Mr Farage claimed the hazard had been caused by foul play: “The French police looked at it and said that sometimes nuts on one wheel can come a bit loose – but not on all four,” he told the newspaper.
“The French police and mechanics looked at it but I have made no formal report in this country. The mechanics were absolutely certain of [foul play] but I have decided to take no further action.”
But LBC presenter James O’Brien has suggested the crash was down to an unheeded vehicle recall.
He tweeted: “Wheel fallen off your Volvo V70? Do you Google ‘Volvo V70 wheel nuts recall’ or allege an assassination attempt?” and linked to a recall notice posted on Government’s Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency’s website.
The notice reads: “Wheel may become loose. It has been identified that the standard wheel securing bolts may not have undergone the correct hardening process. This will result in corrosion, a noise and/or vibration. If this condition is not rectified, there is a possibility that the wheel may become loose and detach.”
The recall notice has been issued for a number of Volvo vehicles, including the V70.
Mr Farage’s representative has been approached for comment.
