Nigel Farage has been accused of using the tragedy of Henry Nowak’s murder for “political point scoring” by his online critics.
The Reform UK leader broadcast an “emergency” address on Tuesday morning, a day after the 18-year-old’s killer, Vickrum Digwa, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years.
Henry was arrested by police officers after being stabbed four times by Digwa, who falsely claimed he had been racially abused.
Harrowing bodycam footage shows Henry repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe” as he is handcuffed at the scene.
After telling the officers he had been stabbed, one of them replies: “I don’t think you have, mate.”
The dead man’s family has called for a “transparent investigation” into the “inhumane” treatment of their son.
Outside court on Monday, Henry’s father, Mark, said: “We do not want Henry’s murder to be used to create further hatred, division or tension.”
Despite that, Farage said the case is evidence of “two-tier Britain” and proved that “an accusation of racial slur [is taken] more seriously than an act of murder”.
He also suggested there had been little national response to the case in comparison to the death of George Floyd in the US back in 2020, which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement and saw politicians including Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner take the knee in protest.
Farage took the opportunity to point to his wider fears about immigration and cultural integration in the UK as well.
“The rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities,” the Clacton MP said.
“We should respond to this with pure cold rage,” Farage said. “Britain’s historic way of life is being thrown away.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Reform leader of trying to create division in society.
“We can’t solve it by whipping people up, we can’t solve it by making them angry,” she said.
Badenoch told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Nigel Farage is taking sides. I’m not taking sides. I’m saying enough of this. We need to stop this racialising of our society.”
Social media users on X and BlueSky tore into Farage for using Nowak’s murder for political purposes, and several questioned why he was making this tragedy about him.
Others accused Farage of “weaponising” and “exploiting” Henry Nowak’s death for personal gain.
Some questioned the logic behind his argument.
A few pointed out that this was Farage’s first public appearance in a few weeks, following intense scrutiny over the £5 million donation he received shortly before he decided to run to become an MP.
The Reform Party leader did not declare the lump sum from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne in 2024, insisting the money was for his personal security.
He is now under investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
His online critics accused him of “hiding” until now.
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