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Lammy says he told JD Vance that Nowak case had 'nothing to do with mass migration'
On Friday evening, the US vice-president, JD Vance, blamed Henry Nowak’s murder on the “mass invasion of migrants” and said the “only response” was “righteous anger”, prompting a rebuke from Downing Street which hit out at “people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division”.
The UK justice secretary and deputy prime minister, David Lammy, revealed to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips that he spoke to Vance yesterday following his intervention. Lammy, who is rumoured to be good friends with the vice-president, said:
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 (Conduct)Authority.
There is an investigation into Hampshire Police by the inspectorate. The (attorney general) is looking at the sentencing in relation to this. The national police chiefs are looking at the guidance in relation to this.
The second thing was I disagree with him. This has got nothing to do with mass migration. This young man 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.
Asked how Vance reacted, Lammy said the vice-president has a “longstanding concern about what he calls western values”, adding that the conversation ended very amicably.
“I also urged him that it’s not helpful to tweet in this way, partly because of what the Nowak family have asked for, and reminded him about their desire not to make this an issue of division and hatred but to make this an issue of common sense.”
Key events
Laura Kuenssberg moves onto pressing David Lammy on defence after MPs warned the government’s delay in publishing the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) undermined the UK’s credibility with its allies at a time of rising global conflict threat.
The justice secretary said the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, is meeting with allies today (when he will host Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz in No 10 to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine), adding that 1,400 new defence contracts have been granted since Labour came into power in July 2024, with £270bn to be invested in defence by the next election, which must be called by August 2029.
“More spending on defence than any year under the Tories, under this government,” Lammy told the BBC.
When asked if he would be happy to give up some of his budget within the justice department for defence spending, Lammy swerved directly answering the question.
Instead, he said: “The first purpose of any government is defence of the nation. I am not going to comment on the discussions I have with the Treasury.”
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on her Sunday politics programme on the BBC, David Lammy said ethnic minorities are disproportionately in the criminal justice system, so “context can matter” but it “cannot eclipse violence”.
Asked if the police should take into account the colour of someone’s skin, the justice secretary said:
We are all equal before the law, so that is not the starting point, but it is the case, recognising that in our country it is still the case that on arrest, on prosecution, conviction, I’m afraid, in our prisons, ethnic minorities are disproportionately in the criminal justice system.
So, context can matter, but it cannot eclipse violence or the fact that we need our police to act to mitigate and deal with crimes in our communities, whatever the colour of your skin or background.
Lammy went on to say that he doesn’t agree there is “two-tier” policing in the UK, a claim propagated by the right which suggests police deal more harshly with white people than other ethnic groups.
Nigel Farage, the Reform party leader, said Hampshire police’s treatment of Nowak was proof of “a two-tier culture in this country, where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities”. In fact, as my colleagues note in this story, recent figures show Hampshire police officers are more than five times more likely to stop and search black people than white people.
The attorney general’s office is considering the jail sentence given to Vickrum Digwa after receiving “multiple requests” to review it under the unduly lenient sentence (ULS) scheme.
As we mentioned in the opening post, Vickrum Digwa, 23, was jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years on Monday for murdering Henry Nowak in Southampton last December.
Trevor Phillips asked David Lammy if he thinks the attorney general will take it for review, to which the justice secretary replied: “He is considering that as we speak”.
David Lammy said wherever there is “privilege” it can be “taken away if it doesn’t command the full confidence of the public”, when asked about the blade Vickrum Digwa used to murder Henry Nowak.
Asked whether it is “time to review the issue of whether the blade he (the killer) claims was religious, the 8in one, is permissible”, the justice secretary told Sky News:
I think it’s important to emphasise he claimed that. There is doubt as to whether this was religious, this 8in blade that was used, one, and two, you cannot carry a blade that is used in any way to harm life, that is illegal in our country, whatever the circumstances.
In the end, where exceptions are made of this kind, whether it’s for Scots or whether it’s for Sikhs. It is a privilege to be able to enjoy that with the confidence of the public.
Now, right across the country, Sikhs, Scots, for ceremonial purposes, cultural purposes, carrying relatively small blades goes on peacefully every single day of the week, and we should remember that.
But it is a privilege, and wherever there’s privilege, that can be taken away if it doesn’t command the full confidence of the public.
Under UK law a person can possess a kirpan for religious, ceremonial, sporting or historical reasons. But, like any bladed article, a kirpan can become an offensive weapon if it is used unlawfully, as my colleague Aamna Mohdin notes in this useful explainer.
Watching Nowak bodycam footage brought back memories of George Floyd, Lammy says
David Lammy said seeing the bodycam footage of the arrest of Henry Nowak – after the student had been repeatedly stabbed – was “deeply traumatic”.
Lammy, who has two sons and one daughter, explained to Sky News:
I thought of my own sons around the same age. It brought back memories of George Floyd, of Stephen Lawrence.
It was so painful, so harrowing, so horrendous – and my heart goes out to that family for the grace and dignity with which they are now having to conduct their lives sort of in the full lights basically of not just UK attention on this but now global attention on this desperate, desperate tragedy.
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Lammy says he told JD Vance that Nowak case had 'nothing to do with mass migration'
On Friday evening, the US vice-president, JD Vance, blamed Henry Nowak’s murder on the “mass invasion of migrants” and said the “only response” was “righteous anger”, prompting a rebuke from Downing Street which hit out at “people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division”.
The UK justice secretary and deputy prime minister, David Lammy, revealed to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips that he spoke to Vance yesterday following his intervention. Lammy, who is rumoured to be good friends with the vice-president, said:
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 (Conduct)Authority.
There is an investigation into Hampshire Police by the inspectorate. The (attorney general) is looking at the sentencing in relation to this. The national police chiefs are looking at the guidance in relation to this.
The second thing was I disagree with him. This has got nothing to do with mass migration. This young man 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.
Asked how Vance reacted, Lammy said the vice-president has a “longstanding concern about what he calls western values”, adding that the conversation ended very amicably.
“I also urged him that it’s not helpful to tweet in this way, partly because of what the Nowak family have asked for, and reminded him about their desire not to make this an issue of division and hatred but to make this an issue of common sense.”
Police planned intervention during trial of Henry Nowak’s killer - report
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. The justice secretary, David Lammy, is being interviewed by the BBC and Sky News this morning and will likely be asked about the future of police reform in the wake of the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak.
The case has come under fresh scrutiny today with a report in the Sunday Times revealing that Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary tried to intervene during the trial of Nowak’s killer but were warned by the Crown Prosecution Service it could jeopardise the case.
The police force wanted to release a statement to address what it described as online “disinformation” while court proceedings were at a critical point against Vickrum Digwa, according to the report.
It is understood the statement contained information about the process of a court case, reminded people that nothing could be published that could prejudice legal proceedings, and said that police would answer questions once the trial was complete.
A CPS spokesperson said:
The CPS highlighted to the police that protecting the integrity of the ongoing trial was essential, and of the risks of referring to any aspect of the evidence before it had been heard by the court and the case had been summed up by the judge to the jury.
However, it was made clear that whether a statement was released was ultimately a police operational decision.
Nowak, a first-year accountancy and finance student at the University of Southampton, was fatally stabbed in Southampton last December by Digwa, 23, after a night out with friends.
When police arrived at the murder scene, Digwa falsely claimed Nowak had racially abused him and knocked his turban off. Nowak was handcuffed and arrested despite telling officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe.
Digwa was given a life sentence with a minimum of 21 years in prison for stabbing Nowak with a ceremonial knife with a 21cm blade, which he carried as part of his Sikh religion.
Hampshire police have apologised for their actions, which received global attention after being criticised by the owner of X, Elon Musk, and senior politicians in the Trump administration, and led to violent disorder in Southampton last week.
Hampshire police have been subjected to accusations of “two-tier justice” and anti-white bias after the murder of Nowak despite data discrediting claims that UK police actions disadvantage white people.
