Lammy told JD Vance his remarks about Henry Nowak were ‘wrong’ – UK politics live | Politics
Lammy says he told JD Vance Nowak case ‘has nothing to do with mass immigration’
On Friday evening, US vice president JD Vance blamed Henry Nowak’s murder on a “mass invasion of immigrants” and said the “only response” was “righteous anger”, prompting Downing Street to lash out at “people trying to interfere with our democracy and foment division”.
David Lammy, the UK justice secretary and deputy prime minister, told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips that he spoke to Vance yesterday following his intervention. Lammy, who is said to be good friends with the vice president, said:
I spoke with the vice president yesterday and wanted to highlight a few things.
The first is this Our democratic process is working well. This young man was convicted. The Independent Police (Conduct) Authority has an investigation into the police.
The Inspectorate has an investigation into Hampshire Police. (The Attorney General) is looking at penalties related to this. National police chiefs are reviewing guidance on this.
The second thing was I disagree with him. This has nothing to do with mass immigration. This young man was an Englishman. Let’s be clear about this. So I said, ‘Look, Mr. Vice President, you are wrong about this‘.
And at the same time the situation is Murders are actually decreasing in the UK. So we had a nice chat. But we disagree.
When asked how Vance reacted, Lammy said the vice president had “longstanding concerns about what he called western values” and that the call ended very amicably.
“I also told him that tweeting like that wouldn’t be helpful, in part because of the demands of the Nowak family, and reminded him that they wanted to make it a matter of common sense rather than making it an issue of division and hatred.”
important events
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC’s Sunday politics programme, David Lammy said ethnic minorities were disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system, so “context can be important” but “cannot overshadow the violence”.
Asked whether police should take into account the color of someone’s skin, the justice minister said:
We are all equal before the law, so that’s not the starting point, but that’s the way it is, in the case of arrest, prosecution and conviction in our country, I’m afraid in our prisons, that’s still the case. Ethnic minorities are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system.
So context may be important, but it can’t overshadow the violence or the fact that no matter the color of your skin or your background, we need our police to take action to alleviate and combat crime in our communities.
Lammy said he disagreed with “two-tier” policing in the UK; This is a claim propagated by the right that the police treat white people more harshly than other ethnic groups.
Reform party leader Nigel Farage said Hampshire police’s treatment of Nowak was evidence of “a two-layered culture in this country where the rights and privileges of white people are less important than those of ethnic minorities”. In fact, as my colleagues point out in this story, last digits It shows Hampshire police officers are five times more likely to stop and search black people than white people.
The attorney general’s office is considering the prison sentence given to Vickrum Digwa after receiving “numerous requests” to review it under the extremely lenient sentencing (ULS) scheme.
As we noted in the opening article, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years on Monday for the murder of Henry Nowak in Southampton last December.
Trevor Phillips asked David Lammy whether the attorney general would review this and the justice secretary replied: “He is considering it as we speak.”
When asked about the knife Vickrum Digwa used to kill Henry Nowak, David Lammy said that wherever there was “privilege” it “could be taken away if it did not have the full confidence of the public”.
The justice secretary told Sky News when asked “whether it is time to review the permissibility of the knife (8-in-1) which the murderer claims is religious”.
I think it is important to emphasize he claimed that. There are doubts whether this is religious or notThis 8 inch blade used one and two, You cannot carry a knife under any circumstances, which is illegal in our country and used in any way to harm life..
After all, when it comes to such exceptions, be it for Scots or Sikhs. It is a privilege to be able to experience this with the public’s trust.
Now, all over the country, Sikhs, Scots, carry relatively small knives for ceremonial purposes, for cultural purposes, carrying on peacefully every day of the week, and we must not forget that.
However it’s a privilege, and wherever there is privilege, can be taken if it does not gain the full confidence of the public.
A person under the laws of the United Kingdom One may have a kirpan for religious, ceremonial, sporting or historical reasons. But as my colleague Aamna Mohdin points out in this helpful explainer, the kirpan, like any sharp-edged object, can become an offensive weapon when used illegally.
Lammy says watching Nowak’s body camera footage brings back memories of George Floyd
David Lammy said it was “extremely traumatic” to see body camera footage of Henry Nowak’s arrest after the student was stabbed multiple times.
Lammy, who has two sons and a daughter, told Sky News:
I thought about my own sons who are the same age. Memories of George Floyd revived, Stephen Lawrence.
It was so painful, so sad, so scary – And My heart goes out to that family for the grace and dignity they showed Now they have to continue their lives Essentially not only the UK’s interest in this issue, but now the global interest in this hopeless, desperate tragedy is in full light.
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Lammy says he told JD Vance Nowak case ‘has nothing to do with mass immigration’
On Friday evening, US vice president JD Vance blamed Henry Nowak’s murder on a “mass invasion of immigrants” and said the “only response” was “righteous anger”, prompting Downing Street to lash out at “people trying to interfere with our democracy and foment division”.
David Lammy, the UK justice secretary and deputy prime minister, told Sky News’ Trevor Phillips that he spoke to Vance yesterday following his intervention. Lammy, who is said to be good friends with the vice president, said:
I spoke with the vice president yesterday and wanted to highlight a few things.
The first is this Our democratic process is working well. This young man was convicted. The Independent Police (Conduct) Authority has an investigation into the police.
The Inspectorate has an investigation into Hampshire Police. (The Attorney General) is looking at penalties related to this. National police chiefs are reviewing guidance on this.
The second thing was I disagree with him. This has nothing to do with mass immigration. This young man was an Englishman. Let’s be clear about this. So I said, ‘Look, Mr. Vice President, you are wrong about this‘.
And at the same time the situation is Murders are actually decreasing in the UK. So we had a nice chat. But we disagree.
When asked how Vance reacted, Lammy said the vice president had “longstanding concerns about what he called western values” and that the call ended very amicably.
“I also told him that tweeting like that wouldn’t be helpful, in part because of the demands of the Nowak family, and reminded him that they wanted to make it a matter of common sense rather than making it an issue of division and hatred.”
Police planned to intervene during trial of Henry Nowak’s killer – report
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. Justice secretary David Lammy is being interviewed by the BBC and Sky News this morning and is likely to be asked about the future of police reform following the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak.
The case was re-examined today A report in the Sunday Times reveals this He said Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary tried to intervene during the trial of Nowak’s killer but were warned by the Crown Prosecution Service that it could jeopardize the case.
According to the report, the force wanted to issue a statement addressing what it described as online “disinformation” while court proceedings against Vickrum Digwa were at a critical juncture.
It is understood that the statement included information about the process of the case, reminded the public that nothing could be published that would negatively affect the legal process, and said that the police would answer questions after the trial was completed.
A CPS spokesman said:
The CPS told police it was important to maintain the integrity of the ongoing case and stressed the risks of referring to any aspect of the evidence before it has been heard by the court and the case has been summed up by the judge to the jury.
However, it was made clear that whether a statement was issued was ultimately a police operational decision.
Nowak, a first-year accounting and finance student at the University of Southampton, was fatally stabbed by 23-year-old Digwa in Southampton last December after a night out with friends.
When police arrived at the scene of the murder, Digwa falsely claimed that Nowak had racially abused her and dropped her hijab. Nowak was handcuffed and arrested, even though he told officers he had been stabbed and couldn’t breathe.
Digwa was sentenced to at least 21 years in prison for stabbing Nowak with a 21cm ceremonial knife he carried as part of his Sikh religion.
Hampshire police have apologized for their actions, which sparked violent unrest in Southampton last week and attracted global attention after being criticized by X owner Elon Musk and senior politicians in the Trump administration.
Hampshire police faced accusations of “double tier justice” and anti-white bias following Nowak’s murder, despite data refuting claims that UK police actions disadvantaged white people.
