THE FUSE

The former president-elect of the Oxford Union has said he "received threats of violence" after making comments appearing to celebrate Charlie Kirk's death.

George Abaraonye lost a no-confidence vote following criticism for the comments he made on social media after the shooting of the US conservative activist.

Mr Abaraonye, who became president-elect of the historic debating society after a vote earlier this year, has told LBC he accepted "fair criticism".

However, he said it had been a "very difficult time" as he, his family and his friends had "received threats of violence".

Mr Kirk, 31, was an ally of US President Donald Trump and co-founder and chief executive of the right-wing youth organisation Turning Point USA.

He was shot dead at a Utah Valley University event in September, in what US authorities called a political assassination.

After the shooting, Mr Abaraonye reportedly posted on social media to seemingly welcome the attack.

On Saturday, Mr Abaraonye told The Times he wished to apologise directly to Mr Kirk's family and was "very sorry" for his comments.

Later, speaking to LBC, Mr Abaraonye said: "We can also be fair in calling out what has also been a lot of just racist and classist vitriol based on the fact that I am a black person, the fact that I'm a student at Oxford - we can be deliberate in splitting apart the two things.

"I received threats of violence. My family did, my friends did and it was a very difficult time, not just for me, but also realising that my mistake has not only impacted my life but could impact other people's lives and impact even just broader communities around me."

After losing the no-confidence vote at Oxford Union in October, Mr Abaraonye said the poll was "compromised" by "untested" regulations.

He also claimed people campaigning to oust him had "unsupervised access" to the email account collecting proxy votes.

Oxford Union has denied claims the poll was compromised.