UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suggested that comments from US leaders on the murder of British teenager Henry Nowak amount to attempts to interfere in UK politics, according to reports by the BBC.
The response came after US Vice-President JD Vance linked Nowak’s killing to migration in a post on X. Without naming him directly, Downing Street said there had been efforts “to interfere in our democracy and seek to stir up division”.
Henry Nowak died the same way a civilization 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… https://t.co/e3HkjzWzwU
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 5, 2026
Officials also pointed to the wishes of Nowak’s family. “They have said they do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension,” a spokesperson said. “Our politics should bring people together even in the most difficult moments.”
UK court sentenced 23-year-old Vickrum Singh Digwa to life in prison with a minimum of 21 years for the 2025 murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak, Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj, Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, offered condolences to Nowak’s family.
Gargajj said the punishment fit the crime and was delivered without religious exemption. He added that UK legal proceedings treated Digwa like any other defendant, and the Sikh community accepts the court’s decision.
What did JD Vance say?
Vance described the killing as preventable and blamed migration policies.
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He wrote that Nowak would still be alive “if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground” against what he called mass migration.
His remarks echoed comments from the US State Department, which criticised UK policing and spoke of “civilisational decline”, as reported by the BBC.
How has the UK government responded?
Downing Street rejected those claims and said policing in the UK must remain “without fear or favour”.
Starmer said it was important not to allow outside voices to shape the debate. “We are clear about how policing operates in this country, wherever comments are coming from,” he said.
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Ministers also said they did not recognise claims that the UK has a “two-tier” justice system. Calls were made by opposition leaders to push back more strongly against what they described as foreign interference.
Why has the case drawn wider attention?
The case has led to protests, political debate and scrutiny of police actions after footage showed officers handcuffing Nowak as he lay injured.
The attacker, Vickrum Digwa, a British-born man, was later convicted of murder and jailed for life. The incident has been used by some figures in the US and UK to raise concerns about policing and migration, though others have accused them of using the case to deepen divisions.
Starmer, who met Nowak’s family, said their request should be respected and the focus should remain on justice and accountability.
