Oxford Union's would-be president now offers grovelling apology to Charlie Kirk's family

He posted a similar message on Instagram before removing both comments.

Now, he has extended an olive branch to the Kirk family.

"I want to offer my apologies and my condolences. No one deserves to lose a husband, no child deserves to grow up without a father," he said.

"I hope that they are able, in some capacity, to move on from what was a tragic event and to that end, I am very sorry," he told The Times.

But the PPE student said he had "very little context for what I was reacting to" when he sent the messages.

"I wanted to start a conversation," Mr Abaraonye said.

"I reacted without nuance and without having done research. I saw a headline and I reacted. I didn't take into account the nuance or consider that at all when I made the comments," he admitted.

Following his comments, Mr Abaraonye said he faced "racist abuse" online.

He received messages calling him "subhuman scum", to be "shot" and "deported from the UK".

"The title of the president-elect of the Oxford Union holds grandeur, but that president-elect of the Oxford Union is still just a 20-year-old student at university," he said.

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Mr Abaraonye was on the committee that approved Mr Kirk's invitation to address the Union in May.

The Turning Point USA founder faced questions about birthright citizenship, abortion restrictions and the men's rights movement during his appearance.

"He had national influence, he influenced policy decisions in America, he was someone who had almost a direct line to the President. He wasn't someone who could be ignored," Mr Abaraonye said.

He characterised Kirk as "very good at the showmanship angle of debating" and noted his approach "became effective especially online because you're able to edit, clip things and frame yourself in a certain light".

Mr Abaraonye initiated a no confidence vote in himself after his messages became public.

But the returning officer, Donovan Lock, suspended proceedings over "obstruction, intimidation and unwarranted hostility" that created an "impossible working atmosphere".

Mr Abaraonye denies his representatives participated in such conduct.

The vote eventually went ahead, with 1,228 of 1,746 members supporting the no confidence motion.

But he challenged the result, citing "irregularities", before his appeal failed earlier this week.

Katherine Yang will assume the presidency for the upcoming term.

"I'm grateful there is a finality, that I have an answer and that to some capacity I'll be able to move on. I'm gutted I won't be able to take up the presidency as I worked very hard to put myself in that position," Mr Abaraonye said.