BBC presenter apologises for misquoting Nigel Farage

BBC presenter Matt Chorley has apologised for misquoting Nigel Farage during an interview about the murder of Henry Nowak.

The Reform leader said in an online video on Tuesday that the public should respond to the killing of 18-year-old Nowak with "pure cold rage".

But in an interview with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch on Tuesday's episode of BBC Two's Newsnight, Chorley said Farage had used the phrase "white cold rage".

Reform argued this implied a racial element to what Farage had said and changed his meaning. Chorley apologised and said the error was "a mistake on my part".

"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."

Chorley gave the wrong quote on camera three times during the interview with Badenoch.

Writing on X on Wednesday, Farage said he his legal team had "written to the BBC demanding a full on-air apology and investigation into the defamatory comments made about me on Newsnight", adding: "Enough is enough."

The Reform leader posted a link to a Daily Mail story that reproduced elements of the party's letter to the BBC.

In the letter, Reform said Chorley's error "converts a criticism of discriminatory conduct by the authorities into an apparent appeal to race".

"It suggests that Mr Farage, far from condemning racialised treatment, was himself invoking race as a basis for public anger."

Nowak was killed in Southampton in December. His killer, Vickrum Digwa, lied to police at the scene of the stabbing, claiming he had himself been the victim of a racist attack.

Bodycam footage released by police earlier this week showed officers expressing doubt when Nowak told them he had been stabbed.

Digwa has been jailed for life with a minimum 21-year term.

The police handling of Nowak's murder has led to national public outcry. Hampshire Police said 11 officers and a police dog were injured during protests in Southampton on Tuesday night.

Chorley joined the BBC from Times Radio in 2024 to present a weekday afternoon show on BBC Radio 5 Live. He also joined Newsnight as a presenter last year.