ITV journalist Robert Peston, who is known for his calm demeanour, exploded at Reform’s Robert Jenrick during a fiery instalment of his late-night news programme on Wednesday evening. During the show, a furious Peston started pointing and raising his voice as Jenrick was shown Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch‘s Good Morning Britain comments, where she said she did not want to hear about “black lives matter or white lives matter” in relation to the murder of 18-year-old university student Henry Nowak, who was brutally killed by Vickrum Digwa, 23, in Southampton.

Jenrick made the point that after American George Floyd’s death, Badenoch specifically came out and said “black lives matter”, but following Nowak’s murder, she said: “I don’t want to hear about black lives matter. I don’t want to hear about white lives matter.”

A poster shared online by Reform with a photograph of Badenoch with her quote from 2020 saying “black lives do matter” and her quote from 2026 saying, “I don’t want to hear about white lives matter”, was shown to ITV viewers and caused Peston to erupt.

Peston pointed at the poster and fumed: “That is a travesty of Kemi Badenoch’s position.” He then played the full clip from yesterday’s Good Morning Britain interview with Badenoch, adding: “There is no world in which she is endorsing black lives matter.”

When Jenrick interjected to say “those were her words”, an animated Peston fumed: “Those words were in 2020 and totally out of context. Even Rupert Lowe has said you are manipulating the death of an innocent man to score petty party points.”

Jenrick clapped back: “That is a ludicrous thing to say, Robert. Kemi Badenoch, when the black lives issue arose, said black lives do matter. Then she went on the media and said, ‘I don’t want to hear about white lives matter.’ Well, I do want to hear about white lives matter.”

Peston raged: “She also said, ‘I don’t want to talk about black lives matter or white lives matter. She is basically saying she does not want divisive politics of the sort you are promoting.”

As they continued rowing, viewers flocked to comment on the altercation on X, with one writing: “PESTON – Unprofessional and completely out of control. Awful man.”

Another added: “I am beginning to think Peston needs an intervention. That was so awful I switched off. A hysterical interviewer is not a good look. When will they learn that calmly dissecting an answer is the best way?”

However, someone said: “@RobertJenrick, what in the world are you playing at? You need to look in a mirror because you have sunk to the depths of hell!” A fourth said: “Deeply worrying behaviour for an MP.”