Trump administration weighs in on Henry Nowak murder with call to ‘end two-tier policing’
The Trump administration has called for an end to “two-tier” policing in the UK following the murder of Henry Nowak, in comments that will infuriate Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
The US state department wrote in a post on
“The United States extends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time.”
Body camera footage from the night Mr Nowak was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa shows police handcuffing the 18-year-old as he lay on the ground after his killer falsely claimed he was the victim of a racist attack. He died shortly after.
Although he claimed he had been stabbed multiple times, he was handcuffed following this false claim, fueling Reform and Conservative claims that the UK has a “two-tier” policing system that protects ethnic minorities.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage argued that Mr Nowak’s death was reminiscent of the killing of George Floyd in the US in 2020 and called for “an end to DEI” [diversity, equity and inclusion] and affirmative action.”
Mr Floyd’s death sparked global Black Lives Matter protests and scrutiny of racial injustice in policing across the US; data shows that US police kill approximately 1,200 people each year. Accordingly policedata.orgBlack people in the US were 3.2 times more likely to experience overall police force than white people in 2022.
Following Mr Nowak’s death, Mr Farage also called on the public to respond with “pure, cold anger”, which led to violent protests near where Mr Nowak was killed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Mr Farage’s actions were “inexcusable” and accused him of “merely pretending” to sympathize with the teenager’s family, who have specifically called for their son’s death not to be used to sow division.
Mr Nowak’s family also called on politicians to rebuild trust in the police, insisting they “did not want outrage to tear communities apart” after their son’s killing.
Mr Nowak’s mother, father and stepmother agreed in a meeting with Kemi Badenoch that the UK needed to “bring common sense back” to policing and how equality is handled under the law.
HM Constabulary Inspectorate has “agreed in principle” to conduct a review into the “culture and performance” of Hampshire police at the request of county police and crime commissioner Donna Jones.
It would be the second investigation into the force and would go further than the Independent Police Conduct Authority investigation into whether officers broke the rules.
