James O’Brien has condemned Nigel Farage for his response to Henry Nowak’s tragic death, slamming the Reform leader as a “gleeful opportunist.”
18-year-old Nowak was stabbed to death by Vickrum Digwa, 23, in Southampton in December last year whilst he was walking home alone after a night out.
Digwa used a 21cm (8in) blade he said he carried as part of his Sikh faith, called a Kirpan, and this week was given a life sentence with a minimum of 21 years over the stabbing.
The case has attracted particular controversy though over the response of police.
Shocking body cam footage shows that when police arrived at the scene, they handcuffed Nowak as he lay dying after Digwa lied to the police that he had been racially abused by the teen and had acted in self-defence.
Nowak telling officers he has been stabbed and “can’t breathe” multiple times. His comments are seemingly dismissed by officers before he becomes unresponsive after a couple of minutes.
Hampshire police has apologised and the force’s Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones described the incident as a “national tragedy”.
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Speaking outside court on Monday following Digwa’s sentencing, Henry’s father, Mark, called for a “transparent investigation” into the “inhumane” treatment of their son.
But the family added they “do not want Henry’s murder to be used to create further hatred, division or tension.”
The grieving family’s wishes seem to have gone straight over the head of the likes of Nigel Farage though, who decided to weigh in on matters.
In a video message on Tuesday, the Reform UK leader claimed Nowak’s death was evidence of a “two-tier culture” in Britain where white people’s rights “matter less than those of ethnic minorities.”
He went on to call on people to respond to the incident with “pure, cold rage.”
Reacting to Farage’s inflammatory message on his LBC show, O’Brien accused Farage and his ilk of ‘seeing “opportunity’ at such tragedy and heartbreak.
“They feel a gleeful relish at the prospect of provoking more violent responses,” he said, comparing this to the response from some parts of the right to the horrific Southport murders.
“Do we let him and his hatred and his desire for violence on the streets of our country distract us from the horror of what happened to Henry?”
Addressing Farage’s “pure, cold rage” line, O’Brien asked: “What does that mean, if not, do what you did after the Southport killings when I was responsible for spreading deep and racist lies.”