Nigel Farage, Kemi Badenoch and the Human Cost of 'Free' Speech

It's time for politicians and the media to take responsibility for the consequences of their dehumanising language about those seeking refuge in the UK

On Friday a Nazi terrorist was imprisoned for attempting to murder a man at a hotel in Worcester.

Callum Parslow had launched what the judge described as a “preplanned terrorist attack” against Nahom Hagos - an Eritrean man seeking asylum in the UK.

The court heard that Parslow’s attack, which involved stabbing Hagos in the hand and chest, had been motivated by “extreme racist right-wing ideology” and a desire to “intimidate” all asylum seekers living in the UK.

It was an ideology he sought to share with others, later sending his terrorist manifesto to a series of political figures on X, including Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman.

While Parslow’s actions were extreme, they were far from exceptional.

Although media coverage of the problem has been extremely limited, far-right terror attacks have become an increasingly occurrence in the UK over recent years.

Another recent case involved 66-year-old Andrew Leak, who set off a series of petrol bombs at an asylum centre in Dover in 2022, before killing himself nearby.

Investigators later found that Leak had posted a series of hateful Islamophobic posts online in which he had urged others to “stand up” against ethnic minorities.

Yet while Parslow and Leak’s actions were extreme, they were far from the only people who have sought to “intimidate” those seeking safety in the UK.