Nigel Farage has rejected criticism that comments he made online had “whipped up” rioters in Southport, as the Reform UK leader was branded “nothing better than Tommy Robinson in a suit”.
Mr Farage doubled down on remarks he made in a social media video in which he questioned “whether the truth is being withheld from us” following the killings of three girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club this week.
The newly-elected MP has come in for strong criticism, including from Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Brendan Cox, husband of murdered MP Jo Cox.
Ms Rayner said Mr Farage, as an MP, has “a level of responsibility”, “and it’s not to stoke up what conspiracy theories or what you think might have happened”.
Mr Cox told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Mr Farage’s remarks were “right out of the Trump playbook” and make him “nothing better than a Tommy Robinson in a suit”.
He added: “It is beyond the pale to use a moment like this to spread your narrative and to spread your hatred, and we saw the results on Southport’s streets last night.”
Mr Farage had posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday in which he said he had “one or two questions” as he speculated about whether the stabbing suspect was being monitored by security services.
He added: “I just wonder whether the truth is being withheld from us. I don’t know the answer to that, but I think it is a fair and legitimate question.”
In an interview with the PA news agency following Mr Cox’s remarks, Mr Farage maintained his position.
He insisted he had “merely expressed a sense of sadness and concern that is being felt by absolutely everybody I know – ‘what the hell is going on?'”
Referring to other recent incidents, he said it is “quite legitimate to ask questions”.
He told PA: “I think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask what is happening to law and order in our country.
“And who are the perpetrators? Why? Very legitimate questions I was asking, and to conflate that with EDL (English Defence League) or anybody else, frankly, it’s desperate stuff.”
Asked about Mr Cox’s comparisons of Mr Farage with Mr Robinson, the Clacton MP added: “The comment is beneath contempt.”
Mr Robinson had posted a video online on Tuesday with the comment: “None of us are feeling safe in our own country, in our own towns.”
I lost my brother to terrorism.
To ramp up hatred on line by claiming the Southport attack was terrorist related (culminating in riots, a mosque damaged and 27 police injured) is not just reprehensible but needs addressing. Otherwise it will happen again.
Disgusted how a… https://t.co/NnPantRYgy
— Tobias Ellwood (@Tobias_Ellwood) July 31, 2024
In the angry three-minute video, Mr Robinson accused the Government and police of “endangering our country” as he claimed they care more about people coming to the UK from other countries “than British children”.
Ms Rayner suggested Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will “be looking at” whether the EDL should be banned under terror laws in the wake of the unrest, which Merseyside Police said was believed to involve supporters of the group that had been founded and formerly led by Mr Robinson.
The Deputy Prime Minister told LBC: “We have laws and we have proscribed groups and we do look at that and it is reviewed regularly. So I’m sure that that will be something that the Home Secretary will be looking at as part of the normal course of what we do and the intelligence that we have.”
Mr Robinson said what he described as the “mainstream media” was blaming the EDL for the trouble, but he insisted the group “hasn’t existed in a decade”.
Ms Rayner hit out at Mr Farage for stirring up “fake news online” about the reasons behind the attack, saying it is his duty as an elected politician to support the authorities in establishing the facts.
“We have a responsibility to hold the community together and say let’s get the facts, and then let’s look at what the actual solutions are and what we can do about the horrific situation that we find ourselves in, not to stir up these fake news online,” she said.
She added that it is “really painful” for people caught up in the trauma to “see online that what’s happened to them is somehow been debated”.
“The inciting of violence and violence on the street has absolutely no place in our democracy, and we have to crack down on those that perpetuate violence and spread it within our communities,” Ms Rayner said.
Former MP Tobias Ellwood responded to Mr Farage on X by writing: “I lost my brother to terrorism.
“To ramp up hatred online by claiming the Southport attack was terrorist related (culminating in riots, a mosque damaged and 27 police injured) is not just reprehensible but needs addressing. Otherwise it will happen again.
“Disgusted how a sitting MP deliberately enflames tensions without any justification.
“Farage should delete this tweet.”
Labour MP Jess Phillips suggested Mr Farage could have attended Parliament to ask questions when a statement was delivered giving an update on the incident on Tuesday.
She wrote on X: “Nigel Farage could yesterday have had the questions, he claims are unanswered, answered if he had bothered to turn up to parliament and ask them during the statement on the incidents in Southport. He didn’t turn up, he grifted instead.”
The 17-year-old suspect in the Southport killings cannot be named for legal reasons because of his age.
He was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents and is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport.
The suspect remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder.
