06 June 2026 , 10:11
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U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Friday entered a British dispute that has arisen over the murder of a student, blaming his death on what he called civilizational decline and the failure to stop the "mass invasion of migrants".
Last year, Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old white man, was handcuffed by police as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer falsely alleged a racist attack. The killer, a Sikh man, was sentenced on Monday to life in prison.
Video footage showed officers ignoring Nowak’s pleas as he lay dying, sparking questions over why the police had believed the allegation of racism and not Nowak who said repeatedly that he had been stabbed and could not breathe.
"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," Vance said on X. "Each time a life like his is lost, the proper response — the only response — is righteous anger."
Vance said Nowak would be alive today "if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it".
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, responding to Vance’s comments, said the Nowak family did not want his death to be used to create further division or hatred.
"We should respect their wishes," the spokesperson said. "Even in the most terrible circumstances, our politics should bring people together. That is who we are as a country."
The case has sparked widespread anger in Britain, with populist political leader Nigel Farage and tech billionaire Elon Musk amplifying right-wing talking points that the country has "two-tier policing" where fears of being called racist have led to ethnic minorities being given greater protections than others.
Starmer has said police had serious questions to answer about their handling of the incident, including how accusations of racism informed police thinking, and an investigation is taking place.
But he condemned a violent and disorderly protest that took place on Tuesday night and said it was "unforgivable" to exploit the death to stir tension after Farage called for people to respond with "pure cold rage".
He also told Musk to stop interfering in British politics on Thursday after the tech boss posted repeatedly about the case and said it showed that police were biased against white people in Britain.
The local police force has rejected accusations of any bias, but police chiefs have said they would review guidelines that were drawn up in response to decades of well-documented incidents of racism in policing on how officers should treat ethnicities differently.
Relations between the United States and Britain — historically close allies — have publicly deteriorated since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began in February, with President Donald Trump repeatedly mocking Starmer for failing to provide greater support.
Vance has previously accused European leaders of censoring free speech and failing to control immigration, and the U.S. State Department on Thursday condemned what it called "ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing" in Nowak’s treatment.
A spokesperson for Starmer said on Friday that Britain’s relationship with the U.S. remained "incredibly strong" but rejected the State Department comments.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told Sky News on Friday that he welcomed the fact that the U.S. government had extended its condolences to the Nowak family but said he did not recognize "this caricature of Britain having a two-tier criminal justice system".
Reporting by Kate Holton and Andrew MacAskill Editing by Ros Russell and Rosalba O’Brien
Deputy Editor