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U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s comments have sparked controversy, drawing outraged responses from many British politicians.
The UK is still reeling from the death of Henry Nowak. Body camera footage showed how the 18-year-old, in agony from stab wounds, was handcuffed while the perpetrator, Vickrum Digwa, who falsely claimed Nowak had racially insulted him, remained free to move. Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday with a minimum term of 21 years.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance attributed Henry Nowak's death to the "massive invasion of migrants"."Henry Nowak died the way a civilization collapses: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared about him, and accused of heinous crimes he did not commit. His murder is as tragic as it is outrageous," wrote JD Vance on X.
"He should still be alive today, and he would be if the last generations of European elites had stood firm in the face of the politics of self-destruction and the massive invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and those who love it."
Vance believes that "righteous anger" is an appropriate reaction, and draws parallels with US President Donald Trump's stance on mass immigration: "Henry is far from the first to lose his life so needlessly, and I fear he won't be the last. Whenever a life like his is lost, the appropriate reaction - the only reaction - is righteous anger. One of the main lessons the Trump administration has taught the world is that stopping the massive influx of migrants and defending national sovereignty are first and foremost a matter of political will and leadership. Everything else is just a pretext."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused Vance of exploiting Nowak's death to sow discord. Downing Street said foreign forces were trying "to intervene in our democracy". Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and the social-liberal Liberal Democrats also reacted strongly, demanding that the U.S. ambassador be summoned.
A YouGov poll reveals that only a minority of British voters believe in "two-tier politics", reports The Times. A third believe that minorities are favored, but a majority see the police intervention as a mistake but not one driven by racist intent. Nowak's family have reiterated that they do not wish his death to be used as an instrument of hatred or division.
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