BBC deletes Newsnight episode after Farage complains about ‘white cold rage’ misquote

Nigel Farage has a victory over the BBC after Newsnight misquoted the Reform UK leader’s response to Henry Nowak’s murder.

In the Newsnight episode last night the presenter Matt Chorley put it to Kemi Badenoch if she agreed the country should respond to the killing of the student with ‘white, cold rage’.

He then got it wrong again, asking the Conservative leader ‘what is the risk if more people follow Nigel Farage’s appeal for ‘white, cold rage’?’.

But in reality, Farage actually said ‘pure, cold rage’.

A BBC spokesman confirmed they had deleted the entire episode.

They said: ‘In an interview about the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, we mistakenly quoted the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as saying people should respond to his death with a “white, cold rage”.

‘To be clear Mr Farage actually said “pure, cold rage” as had been stated earlier in the programme and we apologise to him for this error. The programme has been removed from BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds.’

Matt Chorley also apologised to the Reform UK leader, posting on X: ‘I owe Nigel Farage an apology. This was a mistake on my part, a misremembering of the quote. It didn’t change the content of the interview but I should have got the quote right. I apologise to Nigel Farage for this.’

It came after protests turned violent in Southampton last night as Tommy Robinson supporters tried to storm police lines, injuring 11 officers and a police dog.

The student’s killer, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, told police attending the scene of the stabbing that he had been the victim of a racist attack, while Mr Nowak was handcuffed by police as he lay dying.

Speaking in Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir highlighted the words of Mr Nowak’s father, who said: ‘We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred, or tension.’

Sir Keir said: ‘They’re the words of a grieving father who’s lost his son.

‘I think those words have resonated with people across the country. We must not allow this tragedy to be hijacked by anyone who seeks to divide us.’

Mr Farage argued that the UK has ‘two-tier policing’ and that officers are told to treat different ethnic groups differently.

He said: ‘Following the horrendous circumstances of Henry Nowak’s death, can I urge the Prime Minister to consider this: it is now clear to growing millions in this country that we are living under two-tier policing.

‘The instructions that are given to police officers from police bosses are clear and written down in ink. It says you must treat different ethnic groups in different ways.

‘Apart from the upset and the anger at the circumstances of his death, the anger that you saw spilling out in Southampton last night, which is in danger of getting considerably worse…

‘If the public lose trust in being treated fairly by the police, can he (Sir Keir) take some action, end this divisive practice of two-tier policing, and make sure that all British citizens are treated the same?’

In an interview set to air on Times Radio Mr Farage also said: ‘What you saw in Southampton last night is the beginning.

‘If we get large numbers of young white males who think the police are prejudiced against them, goodness knows where we go.’

As he was speaking in the Commons, the Reform leader was heckled by a number of MPs telling him to condemn the violence in Southampton.

Sir Keir replied: ‘I don’t believe there’s two-tier policing in this country. I’m really shocked that he pretends to have respect for Henry’s family and then acts in this way.

‘The grieving family have asked us not to respond in the way that the leader of Reform has responded. They’ve asked us not to. They have lost their son in the most appalling circumstance. They make a simple plea of us as human beings to please not exploit that. That is their plea to us.

‘We all need to reflect on those words of Henry’s father. My response, and the response of others to be fair, has been focused on the lessons to be learned, so we can deliver justice.

‘His (Mr Farage’s) response has been to appeal for rage, rage. That’s his response to a father who has lost his son and asked for that not to happen.

‘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. It shows exactly who he is.’