PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS: David Lammy told JD Vance ‘you’re wrong’ after Henry Nowak case intervention.
David Lammy has told JD Vance he was wrong to link Henry Nowak’s murder to immigration and warned him the intervention on social media was “not helpful”.
The Deputy Prime Minister said he challenged the US vice-president in a “robust” phone call on Saturday after Mr Vance appeared to blame the killing on a “mass invasion” of people into Europe.
The 18-year-old student was handcuffed by police who ignored his pleas that he had been stabbed as he lay dying after his British-born killer, Vickrum Digwa, claimed to have been the victim of a racist attack.
Sir Keir Starmer’s deputy, who shares an unlikely friendship with Mr Vance despite their different political backgrounds, said the two had disagreed about the details surrounding the murder.
Mr Lammy, who is also Justice Secretary, told Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I spoke to the vice-president yesterday and I wanted to emphasise a number of things.
“The first is that our democratic process is working well. This young man has been convicted. There is an investigation into the police by the independent police complaints authority.
“There is an investigation into Hampshire Police by the inspectorate. The AG (Attorney General) is looking at the sentencing in relation to this. The national police chiefs are looking at the guidance in relation to this.”
He added: “The second thing was I disagree with him – this has got nothing to do with mass migration.
“This young man (Digwa) was a Brit. Let’s be… clear about that, and I said, ‘Look, Mr vice-president, you’re wrong about this’, and it’s also the case that actually murder is coming down in the United Kingdom.
“So, we had an agreeable conversation, but we disagree.”
Related: The article is behind a subscriber-only paywall, but the London Times’ headline on this story is: David Lammy: JD Vance was wrong to intervene in Henry Nowak case.
Curiously, Lammy’s boss didn’t mind intervening in American politics in 2020: George Floyd death: Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes a knee in support of Black Lives Matter movement.
UPDATE: Pure, Cold Rage: What Henry Nowak’s Murder Says about the State of Britain in 2026.