Lammy rings JD Vance to say he was 'wrong' over Henry Nowak murder claims

David Lammy called JD Vance to challenge his claim that migrant "invasion" caused Henry Nowak's death. Downing Street accused Vance of trying to interfere in British democracy.

Lammy challenges Vance directly over Henry Nowak migration claim

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy rang US Vice President JD Vance on Saturday to tell him he was "wrong" to link the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak to what Vance described as a mass migrant "invasion" of Europe, The Independent reports.

Nowak was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, a British national. Lammy told Sky News: "This has got nothing to do with mass migration. This young man who killed Henry Nowak was a Brit. Let's be clear about that. And I said: 'Look, Mr Vice President, you're wrong about this.'"

Lammy said he used the call to emphasise several points: that the UK's democratic process was functioning, that Digwa had been convicted, that investigations into police conduct were ongoing, and that the attorney general was reviewing the sentencing. He also told Vance that murder rates in the United Kingdom were falling.

"So, we had an agreeable conversation, but we disagree," Lammy said.

On Friday, Vance had posted on social media: "Henry Nowak died the same way a civilisation dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit. His murder is as tragic as it is enraging. He should still be alive today, and he would be if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it."

The post was the latest intervention by the Trump administration in the case. Bodycam footage from the night of the killing shows police handcuffing Nowak as he lay on the ground, despite his repeated pleas that he could not breathe. Digwa had falsely told officers that Nowak had attacked him in a racially motivated assault. Nowak died shortly afterwards.

Downing Street hit out at what it called outside actors "trying to interfere in our democracy" and urged people to "respect the wishes" of the Nowak family, who have said they do not want their son's death used to stoke division.

Lammy said he also pressed Vance on that point directly. "I urged him that it's not helpful to tweet in this way, partly because of what the Nowak family have asked for, and reminded him about their desire not to make this an issue of division and hatred, but to make this an issue of common sense," he said.

Despite the disagreement, Lammy described the exchange as cordial. He said Vance "has a longstanding concern about what he calls Western values" and believes those values are "under attack" both in the United States and in Europe. "We disagree on that," Lammy said, adding that they concluded the conversation "very amicably" and discussed when they would next meet in person.

Asked separately about whether religious exemptions for carrying bladed articles should be reviewed following the case, Lammy said that exemptions for Sikhs existed but described them as a "privilege" that could be "taken away if it doesn't command the full confidence of the public".

Source: The Independent