UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had harsh words for US Vice President JD Vance after the American blamed Britain's mass migration policies for the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak. Nowak was murdered in December 2025 by a Sikh man who is permitted to carry a knife for religious reasons and used that blade to end Nowak's life.
"Henry Nowak died the same way civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit. His murder is as tragic as it is enraging," Vance said.
In response to Vance's critique, a 10 Downing Street spokesman said, "In recent days we have seen 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."
"Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible of circumstances. That is who we are as a country," they added.
Starmer notably took a knee for George Floyd in 2020 after he died in Minneapolis police custody. Floyd's death sparked a wave of police reforms in England. That guidance was bent on “producing equality of policing outcomes for people from different ethnic groups by responding to individuals and communities according to their specific needs, circumstances and experiences, with understanding that these will be racialised and with the aim of reducing harm.”
It specifically references “difficult history in its relationships with [b]lack communities,” and states, "In the summer of 2020, nations across the globe were rocked by the outpouring of emotion following the murder of George Floyd. It provided a catalyst for the expression of deep concerns about the social injustice experienced by Black people. This was the same in the UK. Although this was a wider expression against societal injustice, it was about policing."
Officers responding to Nowak's stabbing listened first to the words of his killer, who falsely claimed Nowak had "racially abused" him. Nowak told them he'd been stabbed, but an officer replied, "I don't think you have, mate." They cuffed him, dragged him, and let him bleed out.
"He should still be alive today," Vance said, "and he would be 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."
"Henry was far from the first to so needlessly lose his life, and I fear he won't be the last. Each time a life like his is lost, the proper response—the only response—it righteous anger.
"One of the most important things the Trump administration has proven to the world is that stopping the flow of mass migration and defending national sovereignty is a matter of political will and leadership. Anything else is an excuse.
"It is because we love the West that we want to preserve it. We love our civilization. We love our country. We love our children. And nobody—nobody—should ever die the way that Henry Nowak died. May God comfort those who loved him, and may God rest his soul," he concluded.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke out, saying, "Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West. The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time."
Despite the guidance and the police response to Nowak, Starmer rejected "any suggestion of two-tier policing across the United Kingdom." Digwa was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 21 years. His mother was convicted of aiding him after she arrived on the scene, before police, and hid the knife.
"Henry Nowak died the same way civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit. His murder is as tragic as it is enraging," Vance said.
In response to Vance's critique, a 10 Downing Street spokesman said, "In recent days we have seen 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."
"Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible of circumstances. That is who we are as a country," they added.
Starmer notably took a knee for George Floyd in 2020 after he died in Minneapolis police custody. Floyd's death sparked a wave of police reforms in England. That guidance was bent on “producing equality of policing outcomes for people from different ethnic groups by responding to individuals and communities according to their specific needs, circumstances and experiences, with understanding that these will be racialised and with the aim of reducing harm.”
It specifically references “difficult history in its relationships with [b]lack communities,” and states, "In the summer of 2020, nations across the globe were rocked by the outpouring of emotion following the murder of George Floyd. It provided a catalyst for the expression of deep concerns about the social injustice experienced by Black people. This was the same in the UK. Although this was a wider expression against societal injustice, it was about policing."
Officers responding to Nowak's stabbing listened first to the words of his killer, who falsely claimed Nowak had "racially abused" him. Nowak told them he'd been stabbed, but an officer replied, "I don't think you have, mate." They cuffed him, dragged him, and let him bleed out.
"He should still be alive today," Vance said, "and he would be 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."
"Henry was far from the first to so needlessly lose his life, and I fear he won't be the last. Each time a life like his is lost, the proper response—the only response—it righteous anger.
"One of the most important things the Trump administration has proven to the world is that stopping the flow of mass migration and defending national sovereignty is a matter of political will and leadership. Anything else is an excuse.
"It is because we love the West that we want to preserve it. We love our civilization. We love our country. We love our children. And nobody—nobody—should ever die the way that Henry Nowak died. May God comfort those who loved him, and may God rest his soul," he concluded.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke out, saying, "Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West. The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time."
Despite the guidance and the police response to Nowak, Starmer rejected "any suggestion of two-tier policing across the United Kingdom." Digwa was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 21 years. His mother was convicted of aiding him after she arrived on the scene, before police, and hid the knife.
