Harsh words from the US vice president after the death of a Pole. The British government responds
“In recent days we have seen people trying to interfere with our democracy and create division on our streets,” Downing Street said in a statement. The British Prime Minister's press office emphasized that “politics should unite, even in the most dire circumstances.”
“Members of the Nowak family are mourning the horrific murder of Henry. They have said that they do not want his death to be used to create further divisions, hatred or tensions. We should respect their wishes,” says the statement, quoted by British media.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office did not mention the US vice president by name, but sent a statement in response to journalists' questions about the reaction to JD Vance's words.
JD Vance's reaction
The American politician said on Friday that Nowak would be alive if “the last few generations of European elites” had opposed the “politics of self-hatred” and the “mass invasion of immigrants.” He said that in the current situation, “the only appropriate response is justified anger.”
“Henry Nowak died in the same way that civilization dies,” Vance wrote on Platform X. The US Department of State had earlier expressed criticism about the condition of the United Kingdom. Businessman Elon Musk devoted many posts on the X platform to Nowak's death.
The murder case of an 18-year-old Pole
In December last year, a 23-year-old Sikh stabbed a student of Polish origin with a ceremonial knife, a kirpan. He later lied to police officers that he reacted this way to racist insults. After arriving at the scene, the officers put Nowak in handcuffs. Despite requests for help, he did not receive it. “I don't think so, man,” one of the officers replied to the student's words that he had been stabbed.
In May, a court sentenced the killer, Vickrum Digwa, to life in prison. He will be able to apply for possible release after almost 21 years.
Henry Nowak was born in England. He spent his childhood in Essex. He studied finance and accounting at the University of Southampton. His father comes from Poland. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs told PAP that the teenager had dual citizenship – British and Polish.
