JD Vance blames Henry Nowak murder on ‘invasion of migrants’

JD Vance has claimed the “invasion of migrants” in Europe is to blame for the murder of Henry Nowak in Southampton.

The US vice president said the 18-year-old would still be alive if Europeans “stood their ground” against “politics of self-hatred”.

No 10 hit back following Mr Vance’s remarks, saying the fallout from Mr Nowak’s murder had seen outside actors “trying to interfere in our democracy”.

Bodycam footage from the night Mr Nowak was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa shows police handcuffed him as he lay on the ground, despite his repeated pleas that he could not breathe, after his killer falsely claimed he had been the victim of a racist attack. He died shortly after.

In the latest intervention by the Trump administration over the murder, 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.”

In response to JD Vance’s comments a No 10 spokesperson 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.”

Mr Vance’s comments come after the Trump administration called for an end to “two-tier” policing in the wake of Mr Nowak’s murder.

In a post on X, the US state department wrote: "Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilisational 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."

Downing Street rejected “any suggestion of two-tier policing across the United Kingdom”.

The Trump administration has repeatedly been critical of the UK government over its immigration policies. Mr Vance urged anti-immigration activists to “keep on going” after tens of thousands attended a London rally last month.

Plus, at the United Nations in New York in September last year, Trump said Britain and Europe are “going to hell” because of immigration and dismissing climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”.

Mr Nowak’s family have also called on politicians to rebuild trust in the police as they stressed they “do not want anger to tear communities apart” in the wake of their son’s murder.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey stressed that the UK needs to resist attempts to “divide the country”. He said in a post on X: “We all need to resist attempts like this to politicise Henry Nowak’s death and divide our country - whether they come from MAGA politicians like Vance or their cronies here in the UK.”

Digwa was given a life sentence with a minimum of 21 years in prison for stabbing Mr Nowak with a ceremonial knife with a 21cm blade, which he carried as part of his Sikh religion.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating Hampshire Police’s response in Mr Nowak’s case.