Faced with being outflanked by those to his right, Farage seeks to channel public anger

Farage has been unusually reticent to host press events in recent weeks. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters View image in fullscreen Farage has been unusually reticent to host press events in recent weeks. Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters Analysis Faced with being outflanked by those to his right, Farage seeks to channel public anger Ben Quinn Political correspondent As ethnonationalist far right drives racist agenda, Reform UK leader felt need to weigh in on murder of Henry Nowak The full horror of Henry Nowak’s last moments was only just sinking in on the morning after the release of police footage showing him pleading for help when Reform UK served notice that its leader would be making an “emergency address”. Appearing via a live stream from a location with fields in the background, Nigel Farage paid tribute to the “extraordinarily dignified” response of the Nowak family, before wading in with remarks of his own. “I suggest the rest of us respond to this with pure cold rage,” Farage said. View image in fullscreen Henry Nowak (pictured) was stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, who has been jailed for at least 21 years. Photograph: Hampshire police/PA He went on to link the case of Nowak – handcuffed by police after being fatally stabbed by a Sikh man who claimed the student had racially abused him – to “anti-white prejudice” and call for the “promotion of the idea that white lives matter just as much as black lives”. Of course, a few months ago Farage might have been expected to call a press conference to take questions on the Nowak case – or any others. But Farage has been unusually reticent to host press events in recent weeks: the Guardian’s revelations about the £5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne , and his much-derided claim that his phone had been hacked by the Russians may be behind his unwillingness to answer questions. View image in fullscreen Farage called an 8am press conference after the murder of Henry Nowak. Photograph: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images Yet in many ways, the 8am intervention was classic Farage, seeking to seize the moment and immediately placing the onus on Labour and the Tories to respond. When Kemi Badenoch appeared on ITV and was asked about his “white lives matter” comment, her response was: “We should not make this about Nigel Farage.” But while Reform’s position is the latest iteration of the party’s claims that Britain has a “two-tier” policing and justice system, the Nowak case is also not without risks for Farage. While the Reform leader is eager to channel public anger at the sight of Nowak telling police officers that he had been stabbed and was unable to breath, it comes as Farage faces being outflanked by those even further to his right. As the Reform leader urged the attorney general to review the sentence of Nowak’s killer, Vickrum Singh Digwa , Farage’s populist rival Rupert Lowe went further. He pledged that Digwa would have been “put to death” by a government led by Restore Britain,