‘Scratch below the surface of the immigration crisis and what you find is a volatile combination of fear and disgust, driven by deeper anxieties over corruption and betrayal. At its centre is an imperilled idea of Britishness and cultural purity.’

‘On the face of it, it looks like Robinson used violence as an instrument for advancing a political goal that he came to believe couldn’t be advanced by any other means. The goal was to silence Charlie Kirk, who was an outspoken critic of LGBTQ rights…If all this is correct, Robinson is the archetypal terrorist who murdered not for personal reasons but for politics.’

‘It isn’t clear what can be done to reverse this dynamic of polarization and derangement. But we are not powerless to resist its grip and we could, if we choose, exercise more decorum in how we respond to the deaths of other people. And if we can’t screen out the most deranged voices online, we can at least try to resist their provocations.’