Lammy rebukes Vance over teen murder and migration claims

David Lammy said he called JD Vance on Saturday and told the US vice-president he was wrong to link the killing of Henry Nowak to migration. The exchange turned a Southampton murder into a transatlantic test of how far politicians will go in using a single case to drive a wider argument about borders, crime and public anger.

Vance had posted on X on Friday, June 5, saying Nowak would still be alive if European elites had resisted the “mass invasion of migrants”. He added that the “only response” was “righteous anger”. Lammy said he told Vance the teen’s murder “has got nothing to do with mass migration”, and said the two had an “agreeable conversation” but “disagree” on the issue.

The clash has widened beyond the two governments. Downing Street said some people were “seeking to stir up division” and stressed that the Nowak family did not want the death used to create further division, hatred or tension. Keir Starmer went further, saying Vance was using the murder “to create further division”. Nigel Farage and Elon Musk also amplified claims about “two-tier policing”, pulling the case deeper into Britain’s culture-war politics.

The facts of the killing are stark. Henry Nowak, 18, was stabbed to death in Southampton in December 2025. His killer, Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man, was sentenced on Monday, June 1, 2026, to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years after falsely claiming he had been racially abused. Police bodycam footage released after sentencing showed officers handcuffing Nowak while he repeatedly said he had been stabbed and could not breathe.

Hampshire Constabulary referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct on December 4, 2025. The watchdog said on June 2 that its investigation into officers’ contact with Nowak, including the use of handcuffs and first aid, remained ongoing.

Lammy also argued that Britain’s murder rate is falling and that the country’s democratic institutions are working because Digwa was convicted and the police response is under review. The government has said it will review the legal exemption allowing Sikhs to carry ceremonial kirpan knives, while police leaders plan to review anti-racism guidance in light of the case. The latest Home Office and Office for National Statistics figures, for the year ending March 2025, showed homicide in England and Wales at its lowest level since the early 1980s.