The British arm of Charlie Kirk’s campaign group accused Deputy PM David Lammy last night of ‘fuelling violent rhetoric’ against Right-wing figures.
Mr Kirk, 31, a father of two, was shot dead during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday in what authorities called a political assassination.
Yesterday, there was widespread fury at Left-wingers who celebrated the death of Mr Kirk and used it to score political points.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to the conservative activist on X shortly after his death, saying: 'It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband.
‘We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear – there can be no justification for political violence.’
But Turning Point UK – an offshoot of Mr Kirk’s group Turning Point USA – challenged Sir Keir over comments by Mr Lammy.
Mr Kirk flew to London in 2019 for the launch of Turning Point UK, which was welcomed by Tory MPs including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel.
At the time, Mr Lammy described it as evidence that ‘sinister forces are taking hold of our country’.
He posted on X: ‘The transformation of the Tories from a centre-Right, economically conservative party to one that openly promotes hard-Right, xenophobic bile in just a few years shows what happens when you appease.’
Last night, Turning Point UK said in a statement: 'Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has been at the forefront of fuelling violent rhetoric against those on the Right of politics.
'From baselessly calling President Trump a ‘Neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath’ to branding Charlie Kirk and Turning Point as ‘xenophobic’, Lammy’s words have deliberately fuelled division.
'Charlie Kirk is dead because Left-wing politicians like Lammy demonised and misrepresented political opponents and turned them into bogeymen that extremists view as legitimate targets.