UK deputy prime minister David Lammy says he called US Vice-President JD Vance to tell him he was “wrong” for linking the murder of British teenager Henry Nowak by Sikh man Vickrum Digwa to “mass migration”, saying the case had “nothing to do” with immigration.Speaking to British broadcasters on Sunday, Lammy said he held an “agreeable but robust” conversation with Vance after the US vice-president suggested that Nowak’s killing reflected the consequences of what he called the “mass invasion of migrants” into Western countries.According to Sky News, Lammy said he told Vance: “Look, Mr Vice President, you’re wrong about this,” stressing that the case had “nothing to do with mass migration.”The intervention came after Vance posted on X that 18-year-old Nowak’s death symbolised a broader civilisational decline, arguing that European leaders had failed to stand up against mass migration and “the politics of self-hatred.”Lammy pushed back against that characterisation, pointing out that the UK’s democratic and legal institutions were functioning properly. He noted that the perpetrator, Vickrum Digwa, had been convicted, while multiple reviews were under way into police conduct, sentencing and policing guidance.“This young man was a Brit. Let’s be clear about that,” Lammy said, referring to Digwa, who was born in the UK.Digwa, 23, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years after being found guilty of murdering Nowak in Southampton in December last year. During the incident, Digwa falsely claimed he had been racially abused and acted in self-defence.Public anger intensified after bodycam footage showed Nowak lying on the ground telling officers he had been stabbed and was struggling to breathe. While one officer asked, “You’ve been stabbed? Whereabouts?”, another responded: “Don’t think you have, mate.”Lammy said he also reminded Vance of the wishes of Nowak’s family, who have repeatedly urged people not to use the tragedy to fuel social divisions.“I urged him that it’s not helpful to tweet in this way,” Lammy said, adding that he had reminded the vice-president of the family’s appeal for calm and their desire to avoid turning the case into an issue of “division and hatred.”According to Lammy, Vance defended his position by arguing that what he sees as traditional Western values are under attack. However, the British minister said he disagreed with what he described as Vance’s “caricature” of Western civilisation and its decline.Despite the disagreement, Lammy emphasised that the two remain on good terms. The pair have developed an unlikely friendship over recent years and have maintained regular contact despite political differences.Henry Nowak’s father, Mark Nowak, has repeatedly appealed for his son’s death not to be politicised, saying after the sentencing that the family did not want the tragedy to be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”
