On Tuesday last week, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Southampton central police station.
It came hours after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said Brits should respond to the murder of Henry Nowak with “pure, cold rage”.
And so they did, causing mayhem as they travelled across the city to the neighbourhood where 18-year-old Nowak was killed and where his killer, Vickrum Digwa, lived.
Bricks, wheelie bins, bottles and beer cans were chucked at police officers in riot gear.
The sort of scenes that the teenager’s father – Mark Nowak – had expressly warned against.
He had condemned the “inhumane and degrading” treatment of his son by police, who was handcuffed and his pleas ignored as he lay there stabbed and bleeding after his killer claimed to have been the victim of a racist attack.
But he then added: “We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone.”
But that didn’t stop several far-right figures including Tommy Robinson, UKIP leader Nick Tenconi and Laurence Fox from making speeches.
"This is about race," Robinson said.
"As white people, we are treated as second-rate citizens by our own police force."
For the last year data was available, Hampshire police officers (the local force) were 5.1 times more likely to stop and search someone black than white. The average disproportionality rate in England and Wales was 3.8 times.
But how did the wider far-right movement react to Henry Nowak’s murder?
Unity News Network (UNN) – one of the most popular sources of information for the far right in the UK – praised the initial reaction on Tuesday from the likes of Farage and Rupert Lowe, the leader of Restore UK.
Run by former Scottish Conservative and Labour councillor David Clews, the channel was created in 2018, also with former leader of UKIP’s youth wing Carl Pearson.
UNN’s Facebook page has 105,000 followers and 21,000 subscribers on Telegram, and helped to actively spread misinformation about the far-right riots seen in England and Northern Ireland in 2024.
This time around, one post on Tuesday afternoon – before the riots – stated: “White people have the right to defend themselves against a hostile anti-white state.”
Active Club England, meanwhile, has also reacted to Nowak’s murder.
Often described as a “Fascist martial arts club”, the idea with the Active Club movement is to combine physical exercise with far-right beliefs, with members often pictured (faces blurred) training in martial arts and going on hikes.
Researchers have warned, however, that there is an underlying belief within the group that they are preparing for a race war.
The far-right group – shortly after Farage himself said the same slogan – posted a graphic on their Telegram page with the words “White Lives Matter”.
In a separate post on Tuesday evening, Active Club England stated: “Many people in this country are rightfully angry, many are not angry enough.”
It later added: “Get tribal, white man.”
The far-right group Patriotic Alternative (PA), meanwhile, celebrated that the White Lives Matter slogan had been used by Farage.
Its leader Mark Collett wrote: “Remember who said it first. Patriotic Alternative were the first group in Britain to run a White Lives Matter campaign.”
He added: “Now MPs are using the phrase in parliament.”
In the aftermath of the protests, he said it was “Southport all over again” and that Patriotic Alternative “will again be supporting the families of those impacted”.
They then started a fundraising page for those who have been arrested and charged after the riots – currently standing at 14.
