Starmer criticizes Vance over immigration comments - Taipei Times

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office on Friday condemned comments by US Vice President J.D. Vance, who blamed immigration for the death of a university student who was handcuffed as he lay dying from a stab wound.

Henry Nowak, 18, died after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton, England, in December. Digwa, who is Sikh, falsely told police he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak, who was white. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded man as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.

Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with a 21cm Sikh dagger and sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term.

Photo: AFP

The case has been seized on by anti-immigration activists and politicians, despite that both Nowak and his killer were British. 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.

Vance said in a post on social platform X on Friday that there should be "righteous anger" in response to the murder, which he blamed in part on "the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it."

In a statement issued in response to Vance's comments, Starmer's office criticized people "trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets."

"The Nowak family are grieving after Henry's horrific murder. They have said they do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We should be respecting their wishes," Downing Street said in a statement. "Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible of circumstances. That is who we are as a country."

Ed Davey, leader of the centrist opposition Liberal Democrats, said: "We all need to resist attempts like this to politicize Henry Nowak's death and divide our country — whether they come from MAGA [make America great again] politicians like Vance or their cronies here in the UK."

Politicians including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage have claimed that the police response is evidence of "two-tier" policing, with a bias against white people.

The US Department of State echoed the "two-tier" policing claim in a social media post on Thursday, expressing condolences to Nowak's family and saying that "ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline."

The British government rejected the "two-tier" allegation, which is not backed by statistical evidence.