Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the rioting in Southampton on Tuesday night, calling it “a time for serious work, not rage” in a direct attack on Nigel Farage’s response to the murder of Henry Nowak. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer said Farage’s call for “pure, cold rage” was “unforgivable” and an exploitation of the tragedy.
Starmer praised the dignity of Nowak’s family and said there were “serious questions to answer” about how accusations of racism informed police thinking. He confirmed the government would support the Independent Office for Police Conduct in its investigation into the conduct of officers who handcuffed Nowak after he was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, who had falsely claimed he was racially abused.
Eleven police officers and one police dog were injured during the disorder, which involved far-right agitators. Starmer said there was “no justification for more violence and disorder” and that anyone found engaging in disorder would face the full force of the law.
Farage had earlier accused the police of “two-tier policing” and called for public rage. Starmer responded by quoting Nowak’s father, who had urged people not to use the death to provoke division. “Exploiting this tragedy to create grievance and division would be wrong in any circumstances, but to do it when the family are expressly saying please don’t is unforgivable,” Starmer said.
The policing minister, Sarah Jones, also condemned the violence and said anti-discrimination guidance that suggested treating black and white suspects differently “gives the wrong impression”. The National Police Chiefs’ Council announced it would review the guidance, which some have blamed for the officers’ actions.
