At his press conference, Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, condemned the violence in Belfast last night as “utterly unacceptable”. He said:
Lawful protest is of course something that is a vital part of a democracy, but everybody has to understand that there is a huge difference between expressing one’s concern for what is going on lawfully, peacefully, respectfully, and violence, criminal activities, sort of the fires we saw last night, damage to public property – totally and utterly unacceptable.
But, in response to a subsequent question, Tice got angry when asked by a Channel 4 News reporter if the rioting in Belfast last night may have been related to Nigel Farage urging people to react last week with “pure cold rage” to the murder of Henry Nowak.
Tice said that claim was “absolutely ridiculous” and “outrageous”. When the reporter tried to press on with his question, Tice said that he had given his answer and that it had been “a revolting accusation to make”. He added: “And you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Farage made his statement on Tuesday morning last week. That night a protest in Southampton culminated in violence.
