Keir Starmer hits out at Elon Musk for ‘trying to whip up division’ in UK over Henry Nowak’s murder
Sir Keir Starmer has accused Elon Musk of trying to “whip up division” in the UK over the murder of Henry Nowak, after the tech billionaire publicly commented on the incident several times.
The owner of
The Prime Minister has now accused Musk of “interfering” in UK politics and said Britain should “put forward who we are” as “reasonable, tolerant people”.
“We also need to reveal who we are as a country, because again Musk has been interfering in our politics for the last few days, trying to incite division, that’s not who we are in Britain,” he said.
“In Britain we are reasonable and tolerant people. When faced with a horrific case like Henry’s, we react calmly, just as Henry Nowak and his family did.”
Musk has shared numerous posts about the murder, including a video in which far-right activist Tommy Robinson claims Mr. Nowak was “killed by racist police policies targeting white people.”
He also wrote “it’s either this or death” in response to Rupert Lowe’s announcement that the Restore UK government would execute the student’s killer “with the approval of the British people”.
Mr Nowak ignored police officers when he told them he had been stabbed and instead died while being arrested after his killer, Vickrum Digwa, claimed he was the victim of a racist attack.
Two people were arrested following violent protests that broke out near the place where the 18-year-old was killed over outcry over his treatment.
Sir Keir said “there are questions that need to be answered” about the police response to the murder, adding that the Independent Office for Police Conduct investigating the incident should be given space to “continue their work”.
“I think it’s true that changes may be needed and we shouldn’t shy away from that,” the Labor leader said.
“But we really need to listen to Henry’s family, because they are asking us as politicians and leaders not to use his case to fuel division or cause turmoil. We need to listen to them.”
“They’re grieving, they’ve lost their son, and so everything I tried to do with this case was based on what they were going through.”
Reformist UK leader Nigel Farage has been condemned for his response to the killing after urging the public to respond with “pure, cold anger”.
Sir Keir said her actions were “inexcusable” and accused her of “merely pretending” to sympathize with the teenager’s family, who specifically called for their son’s death not to be used to sow division.
On Wednesday No 10 said Sir Keir would be “open to meeting” Mr Nowak’s family “if they wish” and that any travel to Southampton would be made as usual.
But it was Kemi Badenoch who Mr Nowak’s mother, father and stepmother decided to meet on Thursday, where the Conservative leader demanded “we are working across political parties and religions to rebuild trust in the police”.
Ms Badenoch said in a post about
“Everyone knows I have strong views on how we should handle equality under the law. What the family agrees with me on is that we need to bring back common sense and that’s what we should all fight for. I have promised the family that we will work to ensure Henry has a positive legacy from this tragedy. That is my current focus.”
