Nigel Farage has secured an apology from the BBC after a row over a Newsnight broadcast in which the Reform UK leader was repeatedly misquoted during a discussion about the murder of Henry Nowak.
The dispute erupted after Monday night's edition of Newsnight, presented by Matt Chorley, who incorrectly stated three times that Farage had said the killing should provoke “white cold rage” from the British public. Farage’s lawyers argued he had in fact used the phrase “pure, cold rage” during an emergency broadcast earlier in the day.
On Wednesday, the BBC issued a private apology to Farage, published a public apology on its website, removed the programme from BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, and said a further apology would be broadcast at the start of the next edition of Newsnight.
In a letter sent to BBC director-general Tim Davie, Farage’s lawyers argued the alteration fundamentally changed the meaning of his remarks, converting “a criticism of discriminatory conduct by the authorities into an apparent appeal to race”. The letter also warned that legal proceedings may follow and demanded a full written apology, a prominent on-air apology, and a “proper investigation” into how the incorrect quotation appeared.
Until those demands are met, Farage and Reform UK representatives will not appear on BBC programmes. The BBC was given until 4pm on Friday to provide a substantive reply.
