BBC Newsnight presenter apologises to Nigel Farage after being accused of 'lying to the country'

WATCH: Nigel Farage calls for 'pure cold rage'

|

GB NEWS

George Bunn

By George Bunn


Published: 03/06/2026

- 10:26

Updated: 03/06/2026

- 11:00

The Reform UK leader suggested Britons should respond to the murder of Henry Nowak with 'pure cold rage'

A BBC presenter has issued an apology for misquoting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Matt Chorley, a presenter of BBC's Newsnight programme, had suggested Mr Farage had called for "white cold rage" in response to the murder of Henry Nowak.


However, in a video posted on social media, the Reform leader had actually demanded for "pure cold rage".

Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf accused Mr Chorley of coming "prepared to defame Nigel and lie to the country", adding "This is disgusting from the BBC."

Now, Mr Chorley has issued an apology to the Clacton MP.

The BBC presenter said: "I owe Nigel Farage an apology. During last night’s Newsnight we covered the murder of Henry Nowak and the political reaction to the case, including discussing Nigel Farage’s comments about 'pure, cold rage'.

"However I referred to 'white cold rage'. This was a mistake on my part, a misremembering of the quote.

"It didn’t change the content of the interview but I should have got the quote right. I apologise to Nigel Farage for this."

Nigel Farage

Matt Chorley has now apologised to Nigel Farage

|
X/REFORM UK

Ministers have now appealed for calm after violent clashes between protesters and police near where Mr Nowak was stabbed to death.

Hampshire Police has now confirmed 11 officers and one police dog were injured after violent clashes between its officers and protesters.

Officers confirmed two people were arrested for assaulting police and possession of a weapon after hundreds gathered outside Southampton Central Police Station.

Hampshire Police said the number of arrests would increase as investigations continue into the disorder.

Violent clashes broke out between protesters and riot police

|

GETTY

Demonstrators push against a police line near Portswood Police Station,\u200b

Demonstrators push against a police line near Portswood Police Station,

|

GETTY

Digwa was given a life sentence with a minimum of 21 years in prison for stabbing Mr Nowak with a ceremonial knife with a 21cm blade prosecutors said was a kirpan, which he carried as part of his Sikh religion.

He had previously been investigated by police in 2023 on suspicion of stealing ceremonial blades from a Sikh temple in Southampton but no further action was taken.

The police watchdog is expected to report on the case within the next three months.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said investigators are examining a large amount of body-worn video as well as material presented during Digwa’s trial.

\u200bMatt Chorley

Matt Chorley has now apologised for his comment

|

GETTY

Demonstrators

Demonstrators throw bins at Police officers near Portswood Police station

|

GETTY

John Savage, a Labour representative for the Portswood ward of Southampton City Council where the disorder took place, described the violence as “absolutely outrageous”.

He said that it occurred against a backdrop of long-standing protests against a hotel in the area used to house asylum-seekers.

Mr Savage said: "We really need to wait for the outcome of the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) investigation, we can’t make any judgement based on seeing a couple of seconds of a video, however distressing it is.

"Most people are really upset by it, they really care about what happened in the last minutes of a poor 18-year-old student’s life, but it doesn’t warrant the violent, disrupting, damaging behaviour we saw last night, we need to wait to find out what happened."

Violent clashes

Violent clashes broke out in Southampton

|

GETTY

Sarah Bogle, the Labour leader of the city council, said that she believed a number of people had arrived in the city from elsewhere for the demonstration which started outside the city’s central police station and which was attended by political activist Tommy Robinson.

She said: "They were pretty awful scenes last night and very unwelcome to see that level of disturbance in what is normally a very quiet neighbourhood."

Calling for calm to allow the IOPC probe to conclude, she said: "It’s very very distressing to see what’s happened and it’s such an awful tragedy and I really want to respect and support the principles of Henry Nowak’s family’s wishes to dial down the rhetoric, dial down the tensions, and keep the peace and keep people safe and to honour his memory.

"It’s a huge tragedy for him and his family and it’s awful when these tragedies are weaponised by people who should know better, whether it’s politicians or the far right, it really is unwelcome."