Farage says slow police response stoked UK’s far-right riots – POLITICO

Grilled on his comments by LBC Tuesday, Farage pointed the finger at the police — who in the U.K. do not routinely name suspects under the age of 18.

 “What happened in Southport would not have been of the same magnitude had the truth been told and told very, very quickly,” the leading Brexiteer argued. “Had those questions been answered, far from stoking riots, it would have actually calmed them down considerably.”

The mass stabbing in Southport has sparked days of violence across the U.K., with hundreds arrested. Hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques are among the locations targeted.

`Speaking Tuesday, Farage offered a full throated condemnation of the violence, saying he had “always been 1,000 miles away from far-right agitators, from conspiracy theorists.”

But he declined to retract his X video, instead arguing: “I don’t believe we’re being told the full truth yet about this person. I want to know.”

He added: “I gave the police the opportunity to dampen down speculation. They should have done it and I bet they regret not doing it.”