Did Farage incite violence with his call for 'pure cold rage'?

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The News Agents 49 min 5 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 3 months ago
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Unknown 0:02
This is a Global Player original podcast.
Emily Maitlis 0:05
It took them less than 24 hours to turn this into an absolute shitshow. But it is what Nigel Farage does.
John Sopel 0:12
I mean, yesterday it was Southampton, but not that long ago it was Southport.
Unknown 0:18
But I suggest the rest of us respond to this with pure, cold rage.

Did Nigel Farage incite violence with his call for 'pure cold rage'?

Emily Maitlis 0:24
This is a verbal tick that Farage has perfected where he can always deny what happens next.
Keir Starmer 0:35
Leaving 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 response has been to appeal for rage. Rage. Rage. That's his response to a father who's 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.
Keir Starmer 1:35
It shows exactly who he is.
John Sopel 1:40
That was Keir Starmer and the who he is is Nigel Farage because of his response to the murder of Henry Novak and seeking to make political capital out of it. It was Starmer at his withering, lacerating best.
Emily Maitlis 2:00
Yeah, he was accusing the reform leader of hijacking the death of Henry Novak. And the question is, was Farage deliberately going against the wishes of the dead boy's father out of desperation? Welcome to The News Agents.
John Sopel 2:23
The News Agents. It's John.
Emily Maitlis 2:26
It's Maitlis.
Unknown 2:29
They're throwing bins. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

What was the public and political reaction to Farage's statements?

Unknown 2:44
I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.
John Sopel 2:45
Those were the scenes in Southampton last night where Tommy Robinson had called his supporters to protest about the police treatment of Henry Novak and sure enough they turned up. Initially to a protest outside the Southampton Central Police Station and then from there they went on to an area called St Denis which is very close to where Henry Novak was killed himself. It's worth just stating that the area where Henry Novak was killed is 226 miles to Makerfield. And you might think the two are completely unrelated. But in a lot of the politicians' response, Makerfield is sort of uppermost in their mind, particularly on the right, where an auction seems to be going on about rage and counter-rage. And this was Nigel Farage yesterday talking about his response to Henry Novak's death.
Unknown 3:42
Think of this. The biggest fear a police officer now has going about his or her duty on the street is the fear of being reported for having acted in a way that was racially biased. That fear now greater than dealing with a dying man living on the ground. Henry's family have responded to this in just the most extraordinarily dignified way. But I suggest the rest of us respond to this with pure, cold rage.
John Sopel 4:17
So don't respect the wishes of the family. Let us politicise it. Let us show our rage. Bring people out onto the streets and attack police officers.
Emily Maitlis 4:31
Yeah, I think it's worth analysing what he does without a sort of lesson in semantics. Nigel Farage has once again gone as close as he can to what feels like incitement before stepping back and saying, oh, no, I'm just saying you might feel quite angry. You might feel angry with the system. You might feel angry with the tragedy. You might feel angry with the outcome. I'm not suggesting you do anything.

How did the family of Henry Novak respond to the political discourse?

Emily Maitlis 5:02
I'm just saying it would be normal to feel pure cold rage. This is a verbal tick that Farage has perfected where he can always deny what happens next. It wasn't him that sent people to Southampton. It wasn't him that went on the train like Tommy Robinson to go and start chanting words that were almost certainly horrifying to Henry Novak's family and friends. You know, he can say it wasn't him that injured 11 officers, according to Hampshire police, and a police dog in Southampton.

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