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Security guard who worked for Nigel Farage jailed for rape at Royal Windsor horse show

Ryan Dinnage spent time protecting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage during the local election campaign before a court convicted him of raping a woman while she slept in a caravan. Dinnage was later jailed for eight years, raising questions about the vetting of Farage’s security team.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 independent reports from 4 outlets · Article text read from 1 of 2 reportsHow it's made

View timeline · 9 entries
4 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 1 · C 2 · R 0 · 1 unrated
Updat3 graphic: Europe
Updat3 graphic · Map data: Natural Earth Natural Earth (public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Ryan Dinnage was convicted of raping a woman while she slept in a caravan at the Royal Windsor horse show.
  • Dinnage was jailed for eight years.
  • The Irish Times said the case raised questions about a failure of vetting.

The brief

Ryan Dinnage, who spent time protecting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage during the local election campaign, was convicted of raping a woman while she slept and later jailed for eight years, Breakingnews.ie reported. The account says Dinnage worked as part of Farage’s security team, bringing the case into focus alongside questions about how that team was vetted.

Dinnage accompanied Farage during campaign activity in April and May. Breakingnews.ie says the conviction followed in June, after the rape of a woman who was sleeping in a caravan at the Royal Windsor horse show. The outlet does not specify the year for those month references. The woman’s identity is not given in the account.

It describes the conviction as being for rape and says Dinnage was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison. The Guardian’s headline also identifies a security guard who protected Farage on the campaign trail as having faced a rape charge; it does not provide further case details.

The chronology reported by Breakingnews.ie places Dinnage’s work protecting Farage before his June conviction. Its account says he spent time with Farage’s security team during the spring campaign period, then was convicted and later jailed. It does not describe when the charge was brought or provide details about the court proceedings.

The case has raised questions about a failure of vetting, according to Breakingnews.ie. The outlet does not report who conducted any checks, what vetting procedures were used, or whether an inquiry or other formal review has begun. Those questions concern the security team’s screening of a person who worked in close proximity to the party leader.

Breakingnews.ie also says Farage is generally accompanied by a large security team and has spoken about threats made against him. The account offers no details about the threats or any connection between them and Dinnage’s employment.

The Guardian headline independently describes Dinnage as a guard who protected Farage on the campaign trail, while UA.NEWS’s headline states that a guard was sentenced for rape; neither headline supplies additional information about vetting or the court case.

Why it matters

  • The reported victim was a woman raped while sleeping in a caravan at the Royal Windsor horse show; the account says Dinnage was convicted and jailed for eight years.
  • The case raises questions about vetting within the security team that accompanied Nigel Farage during campaigning.
  • Farage’s security team is described as large, and he has spoken about threats made against him, making screening of those working in the team a concrete issue raised by the report.

What to watch next

  • Whether Reform UK or Farage addresses the questions about vetting raised by the case.
  • Whether any formal review of the security team’s screening is reported.
  • Whether further details emerge about who conducted checks on Dinnage before he worked on the campaign trail.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
4 source articles · 4 unique outlets · 2 distinct reports
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 1 Left · 2 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Europe 100%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
1 outlet
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
4 unique outletsDominant coverage: Europe
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in Europe (4 of 4 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The UK Parliament enacted the Private Security Industry Act, establishing the Security Industry Authority and licensing requirements for specified security roles.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Nigel Farage became leader of the UK Independence Party.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. Nigel Farage left the leadership of the UK Independence Party.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Nigel Farage returned as leader of the UK Independence Party.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. During the 2016 EU referendum campaign, Farage was one of the most prominent advocates of leaving the European Union; the UK voted to leave on June 23, 2016.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. A notable earlier security incident occurred on May 20, 2019, when a man threw a milkshake at Farage during campaigning in Newcastle.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. Paul Crowther pleaded guilty to common assault and criminal damage in August 2019 and received a community sentence and fine.
    Background · from our historical context
  8. The Brexit Party formally rebranded as Reform UK.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  9. On June 4, 2024, a woman threw a milkshake at Farage as he campaigned in Clacton; police arrested her on suspicion of assault and criminal damage.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

Nigel Farage’s campaign security has been part of a political career that began with his leadership of the UK Independence Party (UKIP): he became its leader in 2006, left the post in 2009, and returned in 2010. During the 2016 EU referendum campaign, Farage was one of the most prominent advocates of leaving the European Union; the UK voted to leave on June 23, 2016.

He later led the Brexit Party, founded in 2019, and in 2024 became leader of Reform UK, the party that succeeded it. A notable earlier security incident occurred on May 20, 2019, when a man threw a milkshake at Farage during campaigning in Newcastle. Paul Crowther pleaded guilty to common assault and criminal damage in August 2019 and received a community sentence and fine.

Original sources

4 articles from 4 outlets

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