Nigel Farage has ignited controversy after using an emergency address to link the murder of student Henry Nowak to what he called 'anti-white prejudice' and calling for 'white lives to matter just as much as black lives'. The Reform UK leader's comments came as police released footage showing the handcuffed victim pleading for help after being fatally stabbed.
Farage, appearing via live stream, paid tribute to the Nowak family's 'extraordinarily dignified' response before urging the public to respond with 'pure cold rage'. He called for a review of the sentence given to killer Vickrum Singh Digwa, a Sikh man who claimed Nowak had racially abused him.
The intervention is seen as an attempt by Farage to channel public anger while facing competition from hard-right rivals. Former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, now leading the Restore Britain party, went further by stating Digwa would have been 'put to death' under his government. Elon Musk has also taken an interest, tweeting about the case and pledging to fund a wrongful death lawsuit against police.
Critics warn the case is being exploited by ethnonationalist far-right groups to push an explicitly racist agenda, with images from the footage already turned into memes. Farage's remarks have drawn comparisons to past far-right attempts to capitalise on racially charged murders, though social media now allows for faster amplification of such messaging.
