STORY
David Lammy has said he told US Vice-President JD Vance that he was wrong to link the murder of Henry Nowak to migration. The Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary said he spoke to Vance after the American politician used the case to criticise what he described as mass migration and the politics of western elites.
Lammy said the case had nothing to do with mass migration, adding that the convicted killer was British. He said it was not helpful for senior overseas figures to intervene in a way that risked inflaming an already sensitive domestic debate about policing, justice and public confidence.
The Government is facing pressure over the police response to Nowak’s murder, after the teenager was handcuffed as he lay dying following a false accusation of racism. Lammy said reviews were under way into policing, sentencing and the wider handling of the case, but argued that any reforms should be based on evidence rather than anger.