Reform’s Andrea Jenkyns storms out of meeting over criticism of Reform’s response to Henry Nowak’s murder

Andrea Jenkyns, the Reform mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, walked out of a meeting with cabinet ministers and other regional mayors yesterday, after her party came in for criticism for its response to Henry Nowak’s murder.

Nigel Farage said in a speech on Tuesday that people should respond to the 18-year-old’s death with “pure cold rage” and claimed that it was evidence of “two-tier policing” in the UK.

At PMQs on Wednesday, Keir Starmer condemned Farage for “exploiting this tragedy to create grievance and division” and accused him of going against the wishes of his father, who has said “We do not want his death used to create further division, hatred or tension”. 

Nowak died while handcuffed, after Vickrum Digwa, who has now been jailed for his murder, falsely told police that the former had attacked him and removed his turban.

As reported by The Guardian, Jenkyns walked out of a meeting with the communities secretary Steve Reed and other regional mayors, including Tracey Brabin following a discussion about the role social media has played in fuelling unrest over Nowak’s death.

During the discussion, Reed spoke about social cohesion and blamed “hostile foreign actors” posting on social media for exacerbating tensions, leading to unrest on the streets of Southampton in recent days.

According to sources who spoke to the Guardian, Jenkyns seemed to react angrily to these comments, especially to the remarks about social media.

Jenkyns claimed Labour politicians used Nowak’s murder as a ‘political football’ in the meeting

In a video that Jenkyns posted on X, she said that Labour MPs and mayors had “leaked” the meeting to the Guardian, but that they had failed to explain why she left the meeting 15 minutes before the end.

Jenkyns claimed she left because “a couple of the mayors was [sic] really trying to use the tragic murder, brutal murder, of Henry Nowak as a bit of a political football”.

She said that they had used it “to insinuate and hint that it’s the likes of certain politicians, in other words Reform, who are stoking this”. 

Jenkyns repeated Farage’s claim that the UK has a “two-tier justice system” and that “everybody should be treated equally”.

She continued: “Some of our own communities feel they are not heard because of this two-tier policing system”. 

The Reform mayor then attacked diversity, equality and inclusion policies, and said that if the government and the left keep pushing this agenda it will cause “people [to] feel misheard”.

Jenkyns accused of being unable to handle ‘the truth’

Online, people have accused Jenkyns of walking out because she couldn’t face “the truth” about claims Reform has been stoking division. 

One user said: “So you couldn’t handle them telling you truths about Nigel Farage using this murder for political points (which you’ve now accused them of doing) and going against the wishes of Henry’s family.”

Another commented: “So the Guardian was right, you flounced out because you didn’t like others’ points of view. Just like Farage in PMQs.”

Earlier this year, Jenkyns threatened to walk off the Jeremy Vine show after commentator Marina Purkiss questioned her on Reform’s support for Donald Trump following the release of the Epstein files.

Pressed on whether she still supported Trump in light of the allegations about him in the files, Jenkyns did not answer and became increasingly frustrated at the line of questioning, before threatening to walk out. 

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward