Britain’s second-highest government official confronted U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Sunday, saying he corrected Vance’s claims linking immigration to a university student’s fatal stabbing.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who also serves as justice minister, described a direct phone conversation with Vance on Saturday as “robust” following controversial social media posts by the vice president.
“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,” Lammy stated during an interview with Sky News.
The confrontation followed Vance’s Friday social media post calling for “righteous anger” over the killing of Henry Nowak, 18, who died in December after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton, England.
Digwa, who is Sikh, gave false information to authorities, claiming Nowak, who was white, had racially attacked him. When officers responded, they initially considered the dying victim a suspect before discovering his wounds and attempting life-saving measures.
The vice president’s post suggested the killing resulted partly from “the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.”
Lammy said he stressed several key points to Vance, particularly that the perpetrator was British and is now imprisoned.
“This has got nothing to do with mass migration,” Lammy declared.
A court convicted Digwa, 23, of murder for using an 8-inch Sikh dagger in the attack and sentenced him this week to life imprisonment with a 21-year minimum term.
Anti-immigration groups and politicians have exploited the incident for their causes. On Tuesday, law enforcement in Southampton faced projectiles including chairs, cans, rocks and flares during protests about Nowak’s death that drew far-right participants and others.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office released a Friday statement criticizing those “trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets” in response to Vance’s remarks.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is examining the responding officers’ actions as part of an investigation into potential police misconduct.
Mark Nowak, the victim’s father, has emphasized the case involves neither racism nor religion, expressing hope his son’s death will contribute to public safety rather than “further division, hatred or tension.”
Lammy also told Vance “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.”
