Dear John,

Yesterday, Nigel Farage finally offered a tepid response ([link removed]) to the racially motivated rioting we’ve witnessed across UK cities. In an insincere letter, the absentee MP for Clacton condemned the riots, sounding like an “arsonist appalled at flames” in the words of some of his colleagues.

It’s worth going through the letter line by line in order to expose Farage’s deceit. This letter is a thinly-veiled attempt to appear presentable and say the “right” thing, but it ultimately falls short.

“I have been totally appalled by the levels of violence seen in the last couple of days. The levels of intimidation and threat to life have no place in a functioning democracy. That so many police officers have been injured trying to keep the peace is shocking, and we should not discount the use of the army if the situation were to deteriorate further,” he began.

Note his failure to mention the numerous assaults against ethnic minorities.

This is coming from the man who told his audience that “the truth is being withheld from us,” touting the very conspiracies that initially brought the far-right mob to Southport in the first place. In 2016, he said that if his extremist immigration platform isn’t implemented democratically (it would have to actually be popular for that to work), “violence is the next step ([link removed]) .” See here afull list ([link removed]) of all the times Nigel Farage encouraged violence.

“In the short term, we will quell the riots, but deeper long-term problems remain.

Ever since the soft policing of the Black Lives Matter protests, the impression of two-tier policing has become widespread. The Prime Minister’s faltering attempts to address the current crisis have only added to that sense of injustice,” Farage continued.

None of this is true. The policing of BLM was found, by independent police monitors ([link removed]) , to be heavy-handed and racially biased, with excessive force deployed even against independent legal observers. The “two-tier” narrative has been advanced by notorious online hate-monger Tommy Robinson, and simply doesn’t stand up to evidence.

Police have emphasised ([link removed]) that these riots over this weekend were significantly more violent than any mass gathering in recent years. These recent riots, in the words of one police constable, were “about trying to frighten communities, damage property and attack police officers,” not promote any unified or specific cause.

“The majority of our population can see the fracturing of our communities as a result of mass, uncontrolled immigration, whether legal or illegal. Yet to attempt to debate this in the public arena leads to immediate howls of condemnation. A population explosion without integration was always going to end badly. I have said this for many years,” he concluded.

Farage added that Parliament must be recalled in order to have a “more honest debate” about immigration.

But this is also a pack of lies. The UK has spent years debating immigration, it’s been a key issue at the last several General Elections. Does he think we all have amnesia?

The UK as a whole has moved further to the right on immigration in recent years, with both major parties endorsing anti-migrant platforms, partially as a result of Farage’s own fear-mongering. He’s gotten his way for years, and yet he’s still complaining.

Moreover, this is an attempt to frame the actions of violent thugs as protests over “legitimate grievances.” These “grievances”, as we’ve seen, were founded on lies and conspiracy, and the “protests” were violent actions that resulted in injured police officers, burned out buildings, and harm to our communities.

Farage is not trying to foster democratic debate. As always, he’s trying to stir division and chaos. We’ve long warned about the damage that Farage’s far-right movement can do to this country, and these riots may just be the beginning.

We’ll continue to call him out on his lies, his insincerity, and his violent rhetoric. Democracy depends on it.

All the best,

Matt

Matt Gallagher

Comms Officer, Open Britain Team
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