{"id":620287,"date":"2026-06-04T06:31:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/620287\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T06:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:31:09","slug":"who-were-the-far-right-agitators-at-the-henry-nowak-protests-in-southampton-far-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/620287\/","title":{"rendered":"Who were the far-right agitators at the Henry Nowak protests in Southampton? | Far right"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of those who attended a protest in Southampton on Tuesday night were ordinary members of the public, appalled at the killing of Henry Nowak and his treatment at the hands of the police \u2013 who handcuffed him after a false accusation of racism by his killer, Vickrum Digwa.<\/p>\n

But the protest, which turned violent, was also attended by several far-right leaders, anti-immigrant influencers and known fascists. Eleven police officers and a police dog were injured as protesters threw bricks and bins at riot officers. Two people have been arrested. While the violence occurred after many of the speakers at the protest had left, some leading figures could be seen in clashes with riot police.<\/p>\n

Map of where the protests took place<\/a><\/p>\n

There have been concerns from community leaders that far-right groups bused people into area. Many leading rightwing extremists made angry speeches at the protest, which was organised by Southampton Patriots, and was backed by Turning Point UK and Patriots of Britain.<\/p>\n

Here are some of those who attended.<\/p>\n

Tommy RobinsonRobinson stands with demonstrators. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

In his speech outside Southampton police station<\/a>, Robinson called for Digwa\u2019s family to be removed from the city. \u201cThe fact that he [Digwa\u2019s brother] is walking the street is insane,\u201d he told the crowd. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, claimed Nowak\u2019s handcuffing showed there was \u201cdifferent treatment for white people compared to non-whites\u201d. Yaxley-Lennon is awaiting trial on charges of harassment against two Daily Mail journalists.<\/p>\n

\"TommyTommy Robinson speaking at protest in SouthamptonLuke JahnJahn, in a suit and tie, at the front of the line of protesters. Photograph: Christopher Walls\/SOPA Images\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Jahn is the Portsmouth branch organiser for the National Rebirth party, a fascist micro-party led by Alek Yerbury. In a video posted on X<\/a>, he can be seen at the front of a crowd in a brown suit making lewd gestures at riot police. He later tweeted<\/a> \u201cAnglo Saxon England\u201d, and re-shared<\/a> a post from a separate user that read, \u201cWhite people rise NOW\u201d. Jahn was filmed in clashes with police alongside a man wearing a Restore Britain T-shirt.<\/p>\n

\"LukeLuke Jahn seen at riot in SouthamptonLaurence Fox<\/p>\n

The former actor and London mayoral candidate founded the far-right Reclaim party, with one of his claimed intentions being to \u201cdepoliticise the police\u201d.\u00a0In a video<\/a> about Nowak\u2019s killing he said: \u201cIf this was a young Black man, the whole country would be on fire.\u201d Pointing to Southampton central police station, he said: \u201cThose people in there are your enemy. They\u2019re not your friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawrence Fox speaks at the protest outside Southampton police station. Photograph: Lab Mo\/SOPA Images\/ShutterstockPaul Golding<\/p>\n

A former member of the British National party, Golding is now the leader of Britain First, an anti-immigration and anti-Islam far-right group. He described<\/a> the party as a \u201cstreet defence organisation\u201d. Giving a speech at the protest, Golding urged the crowd<\/a> to \u201ctake your anger and turn it into political action\u201d, claiming that the police were not dealing with \u201cthe real criminals who are turning Britain into a foreign country\u201d.<\/p>\n

Britain First leader, Paul Golding, at the protest. Photograph: Lab Mo\/SOPA Images\/ShutterstockNick Tenconi <\/p>\n

A former senior figure in the right-wing group Turning Point UK, Tenconi became the leader of Ukip last year. Addressing protesters<\/a> he said that he was \u201cpledging to begin mass deportations\u201d and to \u201creinstate Christianity back into the heart of government\u201d. He also read the Lord\u2019s prayer \u201cfor Henry\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ukip leader, Nick Tenconi, attending the protest. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster\/Getty ImagesGregory Moffitt <\/p>\n

Known by his alias Young Bob, Moffitt is a conservative activist who gained attention through the UK branch of Turning Point, an offshoot of the American student group founded by the late US rightwingers Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery. He was suspended<\/a> from his position in the group after the anti-extremist group Hope Not Hate revealed disparaging comments he made about Tenconi when he was Turning Point\u2019s chief operating officer. In a video filmed at the protest<\/a>, Moffitt said it \u201cperfectly demonstrates the sentiment in the country\u201d, claiming \u201cnative people are not properly policed\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moffitt, with a blue lanyard, can be seen filming protesters pushing a bin towards police lines. Photograph: Christopher Walls\/SOPA Images\/ShutterstockKellie-Jay Keen-Minshull<\/p>\n

Also known as Posie Parker, Keen blamed Nowak\u2019s killing on schools, claiming they feed children critical race theory<\/a>. She formed the Party of Women to promote anti-transgender views. At the protest, she told a GB News reporter that \u201cwhites are at the bottom of the priority list, so we\u2019re assumed to be guilty\u201d.<\/p>\n

Anthony Barnes<\/p>\n

Known online as AY Audits, Barnes is a frequent presence at far-right events. His YouTube channel <\/a>has more than 141,000 subscribers. He gained traction last summer through his videos at the anti-migrant protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, when it was being used as emergency accommodation for asylum seekers.<\/p>\n

\"AnthonyAnthony Barnes (AKA AY Audits) seen at riot in SouthamptonChris Wickland<\/p>\n

A senior pastor at the evangelical Living World Church Network in Hampshire and an associate of Robinson, Wickland has been one of the most prominent figures on the far right as it has pivoted towards Christian Nationalism. Wickland was filmed by Barnes earlier in the day giving an interview<\/a> as thousands were gathering outside Southampton police station.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of those who attended a protest in Southampton on Tuesday night were ordinary members of the public,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-620287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}