Lammy says he told JD Vance his Nowak comments were 'wrong'

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has said he called US Vice-President JD Vance to tell him he was "wrong" in the comments he made about the murder of teenager Henry Nowak.

Vance blamed the death of the 18-year-old British student, who was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa last year, on the "mass invasion of migrants" and said the "only response" was "righteous anger".

Lammy told the BBC he had spoken to Vance on Saturday and told the vice-president the killing "has got nothing to do with mass migration".

Digwa falsely claimed he had been racially abused and had acted in self-defence after murdering Nowak in Southampton in December last year.

Digwa, who is British and was born in the UK, was jailed for life for murdering Nowak with a blade he claimed he was carrying for religious reasons linked to his Sikh faith.

Bodycam footage showed police handcuffing Nowak as he lay dying after Digwa falsely claimed to officers he was the victim of a racist attack.

The killing ignited a fierce debate about policing and knife laws in the UK, with violent protests erupting in Southampton.

Posting to X on Friday, Vance said Nowak had died "the same way a civilisation dies: abandoned and handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him".