ReutersDowning Street has hit out at “people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division”, after JD Vance’s comments on the murder of Henry Nowak.
The US vice-president blamed the death of the 18-year-old-British student, who was fatally stabbed in December by Vickrum Digwa, on the “mass invasion of migrants” and said the “only response is righteous anger”.
After the post on X, the Downing Street spokesman said the Nowak family “have said they do not want his death to be used to create further division”.
“Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible of circumstances. That is who we are as a country,” the statement added.
In his post, Vance described the killing as “tragic as it is enraging”, saying that Nowak would still be alive today “if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants”.
The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed that Vickrum Digwa, the murderer of Henry Nowak, was British born.
Most figures in UK politics had hoped the atmosphere would remain calmer after the violent protests in Southampton on Tuesday.
A reason the criticism from Downing St was so swift and pointed is in part to avert what could become another political storm.
Vance’s comments suggest that they were also partly aimed at a domestic audience in the US, particularly MAGA-adherents who are broadly supportive of the administration’s own immigration policies in the US.
The Vance post echoed a US State Department post on Thursday that said: “Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West.”
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accused tech billionaire Elon Musk of “trying to whip up division” over Nowak’s murder.
Posting on X on Tuesday, Musk wrote: “Send the video to everyone you know showing how heinously Nowak was treated by the police in his dying moments and how the police cravenly kowtowed to his murderer.”
Minister for Children Josh MacAlister also criticised Vance, telling BBC Radio 4 on Friday: “I don’t think we need advice from American politicians … [on] how to have effective policing here in the UK”.
Violent protests took place in Southampton on Tuesday following the release of bodycam footage which showed police handcuffing Nowak as he lay dying after Digwa falsely claimed to be the victim of racist attack.
During the protests, police were pelted with missiles, resulting in eleven officers and one police dog being injured. Two people were arrested after the incident.
Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years after he used a 21cm (8in) blade he said he carried as part of his Sikh faith to kill Nowak, who was walking home alone after a night out with friends on 3 December.
The comments by JD Vance follow a week in which there has been intense scrutiny of the police response – with the case also sparking fresh debates around knife laws, race, policing and public trust.
Debate over the case escalated during PMQs on Wednesday, when Sir Keir accused Reform leader Nigel Farage of exploiting the death of Nowak to create “grievance and division”.
It came after Farage suggested the British public react with “pure, cold rage” to the actions of police and claimed the incident was a result of “two-tier policing”, citing anti-racism guidance issued by police bosses.
So-called “two-tier policing” is the claim that minority communities are treated preferably because officers are worried about being accused of racism.
The acting chief of West Midlands Police, Constable Scott Green, has rejected its existence.
“What I see every day from the officers and staff and volunteers on the front line is people out there doing the very best they can everyday, for the communities they serve,” he said on Wednesday.
Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch has also been critical of the police, and said: “Police don’t set out to carry out two-tier policing, but that is what many people are experiencing and we need to take people’s experiences seriously.
“It is quite clear that something is not right.”
A document which has come under scrutiny is an anti-racism commitment published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
A section of it which has been highlighted says its goal of “producing equality of policing outcomes… does not mean treating everyone ‘the same’ or being ‘colour blind’…”.
Chief constable Gavin Stephens who chairs the NPCC said in response: “Where needed we can and will make changes, but this should not detract from the intent, which is to improve the quality of policing.”
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said “we all need to resist attempts like this to politicise Henry Nowak’s death and divide our country – whether they come from MAGA politicians like Vance or their cronies here in the UK”.
Additional reporting by Jamie Whitehead
