Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has led UK tributes to Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old American conservative activist who was fatally shot on Wednesday while addressing students at Utah Valley University. Johnson described Kirk's murder as 'a sign of the utter desperation and cowardice of those who could not defeat him in argument', adding that the activist had been killed 'for saying things that used to be simple common sense'. He called Kirk 'a shining new martyr to free speech'.
European far-right leaders have also praised Kirk, with several blaming his death on left-wing rhetoric. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claimed Kirk's death was 'the result of the international hate campaign waged by the progressive-liberal left', linking it to recent attacks on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. France's Jordan Bardella denounced the 'dehumanising rhetoric of the left', while Germany's Alice Weidel called Kirk 'a fighter for freedom of speech' who was 'shot by a fanatic'.
In the European Parliament, far-right MEPs demanded a minute's silence for Kirk, but were denied by President Roberta Metsola on procedural grounds. When Sweden Democrat MEP Charlie Weimers tried to observe the tribute during his speaking time, he was cut short, prompting protests from the European Conservatives and Reformists group. Italy's far-right League called the decision 'politically shameful and morally unacceptable'.
US police and federal agents continue to search for the sniper believed to have fired the fatal shot, but no suspect has been identified or arrested, and the shooter's motives remain unknown.
