JD Vance condemns 'unacceptable' killing of white student in UK. How the London government responds
US Vice President JD Vance on Friday condemned the “tragic and unacceptable killing” of a white student who was handcuffed by police as he died after being wrongly accused of racial slurs by his killer, a young Sikh, reports AFP.
Henry Nowak, 18, “should still be alive today and would be if the last generations of European elites had resisted the politics of self-hatred and the massive invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West,” he wrote on X.
“Henry is far from the first to lose his life so needlessly, and I fear he won't be the last,” Vance wrote.
“Henry Nowak died the same way a civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who didn't trust him or care about him, accused of hate crimes he didn't commit,” Vance pointed out.
The images that sparked protests in Britain
Footage of British police in December handcuffing a student in agony and wrongly accused of racial slurs immediately after he had been stabbed by a young Sikh sparked outrage and accusations against the police.
Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh, was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 21 years for the murder of Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old student, who he fatally stabbed on December 3, 2025, in Southampton (southern England), while the student was returning from a party.
The killer immediately told law enforcement that he had been the victim of a racist attack and that he had acted in self-defense after insults and blows.
Footage released by police after the killer's conviction shows the student lying on the floor when officers arrived, saying several times in a weak voice: “I can't breathe” and “I've been stabbed”.
In the same footage, the police speak to Vickrum Digwa, who is standing next to them, after which they handcuff Henry Nowak and tell him that he is under arrest, but he is already unresponsive.
The police intervention has also been criticized by US billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he is willing to fund legal action against Hampshire police.
Starmer denounces Vance's attempted interference
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office on Friday denounced “attempted interference” after US Vice President JD Vance criticized Britain's handling of the case, AFP reports.
“We have seen individuals trying to interfere with our democracy and fuel division on our streets,” a spokesman at 10 Downing Street, the British prime minister's office, said in a statement.
“The Nowak family is grieving Henry's horrific murder. She has stated that she does not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We must respect her wishes,” Starmer's reps continued.
