A Rabbi in Reading has called Reform UK ‘liars’ for a post reacting to the murder of Henry Nowak in Southampton.
Mr Nowak died aged 18 in December last year after being stabbed in an altercation with Vikram Digwa, a man who is of a Sikh background.
The murder has led the phrase ‘ White Lives Matter’ to enter the national conversation, in a similar fashion to how ‘Black Lives Matter’ became an international talking point following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
The Reform UK party has accused Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, of failing to say that White lives matter as well.
Reform UK posted: “Kemi Badenoch, just like Starmer, doesn’t care. Only Reform UK will openly say that white lives matter too.”
This comes in the context of Digwa being sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years imprisonment at Southampton Crown Court on Monday, June 1.
This led Zvi Solomons, the Orthodox Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Berkshire, to call Reform’s statement misleading.
Rabbi Solomons posted on X: “In their haste to try to beat Andy Burnham in the Makerfield by-election Reform UK and [Robert] Jenrick are posting absolute fibs.
“What liars! Kemi Badenoch said ‘I don’t want to hear about Black Lives Matter, I don’t want to hear about White Lives Matter, every life matters, Henry Nowak’s life matters.
“Look what they put instead, it’s absolutely outrageous.”
Rabbi Solomons alluded to the Makerfield by-election in Greater Manchester, which will be held on Thursday, June 18.
The statement by Reform was posted yesterday (Tuesday, June 2) and remains up.
That same day, a protest was held at Southampton Crown Court with speeches from Stephen Yaxley Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, and Nick Tenconi, the leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) who has links to Reading.
The demonstration was organised by a group called Southampton Patriots.
Footage captured by vloggers AY Audits and Young Bob shows clashes between members of the public and the police.
Two people have been arrested; 11 officers and one police dog were injured during the disorder.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted councillor Daya Pal Singh (Labour, Emmer Green), who is a practising Sikh, and the Alliance for Cohesion and Racial Equality (ACRE) for any statements they wish to provide to promote community cohesion.
