David Lammy informed JD Vance he was ‘unsuitable’ in name after Henry Nowak feedback

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said he had spoken to US Vice President JD Vance on Saturday, telling him migration ‘had nothing to do’ with Henry Nowak’s murder after an incendiary intervention

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David Lammy confronted US Vice President JD Vance over his attack on the UK over Henry Nowak’s death, he has confirmed.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he had spoken with Mr Vance, who he has a friendship with, on Saturday and told him he was wrong. He said the tragedy was “nothing to do with mass migration” and pointed to investigations into the police response. In a post on Friday, Mr Vance claimed Henry would be alive today if it wasn’t for the “politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants”.

Mr Lammy told the Vice President that the intervention was not helpful, and said he had pointed out his comments were untrue. There has been an outcry after harrowing footage showed Henry telling police he had been stabbed and could not breathe – but was not believed.

Henry’s British-born killer, Vickrum Digwa, lied to officers, falsely claiming he had been racially abused. The Deputy PM told Sky New’s Sunday morning with Trevor Phillips: “I spoke to the Vice President yesterday. I wanted to emphasise a number of things. The first is that our democratic process is working well.

“This young man (Digwa) has been convicted. There is a investigation into the police by the Independent Police Complaints 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.” And he went on: “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 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 if he had given Mr Vance a ‘ticking off’, Mr Lammy said: “We had an agreeable conversation because we have got a relationship. But I wanted to make him clear that I disagree with some of the facts that he was asserting, and to present the facts to him.”

Sir Trevor asked how Mr Vance responded to that. “He has a longstanding concern about what he calls, Western values,” Mr Lammy said.

“He actually was at pains to say both in the United States and in here in Europe, which he believes are under attack. We’ve had this conversation before. Again, we disagree on that.”

Mr Lammy continued: “We ended the conversation very amicably. We talked about when we’re next going to see each other.

“But 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.

“That’s the best legacy.” Last week Keir Starmer said that choosing “unity and progress over division and hatred” is the only way to honour Henry’s legacy. In a statement following the a meeting with Henry’s family, he said he was determined that lessons would be learned from the case.

The PM stated: “I was profoundly humbled to meet Henry Nowak’s family, Mark, Lucy and Katie, in Downing Street this afternoon, and to see their dignity and strength in the face of unimaginable pain.

“I was moved to learn more about Henry – his kindness, his warmth, and his love of football – and am grateful to his family. There is no doubt he had a bright future ahead of him, a future cruelly stolen from him in appalling circumstances.

“Henry deserves a legacy that goes beyond this awful tragedy, and I am committed to making that happen. I am determined that we do everything in our power to prevent other families from suffering such a devastating loss.”

It comes after Nigel Farage called for “pure cold rage” and claimed there is “two-tier policing” in the UK. In his post, Mr Vance said: “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. His murder is as tragic as it is enraging.

“He should still be alive today, 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—is 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.”

An investigation into Hampshire Police’s handling of Henry’s fatal stabbing is being carried out by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Bodycam video released on Monday revealed officers at the scene did not believe the fatally-wounded student when he said he had been stabbed.

One has since resigned, the force said, while two others are not carrying out frontline duties. Eleven police officers were injured in violent clashes in Southampton on Tuesday evening.