LONDON — On Sunday, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister took a firm stance against U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s controversial comments linking immigration to the tragic death of a university student. The student, who died from a stab wound while handcuffed, became the center of a heated discussion.
David Lammy, who also serves as the Justice Minister, engaged in what he described as a “robust” phone conversation with Vance on Saturday. Despite their differing political views, Lammy and Vance have developed a friendship rooted in shared religious beliefs and family backgrounds.
“Our conversation was amicable, given our existing relationship,” Lammy shared with Sky News. “However, I made it clear that I disagreed with some of the assertions he made and felt it necessary to present him with the actual facts.”
The dialogue between the two officials followed a day after Vance took to the social media platform X, expressing that there should be “righteous anger” over the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak. Nowak was fatally stabbed in December by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton, England.
Digwa, a Sikh, falsely accused Nowak, who was white, of a racially motivated attack. This misled the police to initially treat the injured Nowak as a suspect. It was only after realizing his severe injury that officers attempted to save his life.
Vance’s comments implied that the crime was, in part, a consequence of what he termed a “mass invasion of migrants,” suggesting that many harbor disdain for Western values and its supporters.
Lammy said he wanted to “emphasize a number of things” to Vance, including that the killer was British and is now behind bars.
“This has got nothing to do with mass migration,” Lammy said.
Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with an 8-inch (21 centimeter) Sikh dagger and sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term.
The case has been seized on by anti-immigration activists and politicians in the U.K. On Tuesday, police in Southampton were pelted with chairs, cans, rocks and flares after a demonstration over Nowak’s death attended by far-right figures and others.
In a statement issued Friday in response to Vance’s comments, Prime Minister Keir Starmer ‘s office criticized people “trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigates allegations of police wrongdoing, is probing the actions of police officers on the scene.
The victim’s father, Mark Nowak, has said the case was not about racism or religion, and that he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets and not to be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”
Lammy also said he told Vance “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.”
