David Lammy has hit back at claims from the Trump administration of “two-tier policing” in the UK, saying he does not “recognise this caricature of Britain”.
In the wake of Henry Nowak’s murder, the US state department shared a post on social media saying such policing, which alludes to an anti-white bias, should be “rejected”.
In a post on X, it wrote: “Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilisational decline. They must be rejected across the West.
“The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time.”
However, the deputy prime minister told Sky News: “I saw that tweet that they express condolences for the Nowak family.
“The US and the UK have a close special relationship and I welcome the fact they’ve extended condolences.
“I don’t recognise this caricature of Britain having a two-tier criminal policing, I think the vast majority of the public don’t recognise that either.
“Farage was an outlier, his behaviour was shameful and all of the other political parties don’t recognise that either.”
Police bodycam footage from the night Mr Nowak was fatally stabbed last December shows him telling officers had been stabbed and repeatedly pleading that he could not breathe.
He was handcuffed by Hampshire police officers, who dismissed his pleas, after his killer Vickrum Digwa falsely claimed he had been the victim of a racist attack. Mr Nowak died a short while later.
The Lib Dems have urged Sir Keir to summon the US ambassador over the State Department’s intervention.
Calum Miller, the party’s Foreign Affairs spokesman, said: “The three main parliamentary party leaders were right to call for calm, respect and unity yesterday.
“The Trump administration should not be using the tragic murder of Henry Nowak as a political football. This is flagrant foreign interference that seeks to fan the flames of division and the prime minister should summon the US ambassador immediately.”
The latest intervention by the US administration comes after billionaire X owner Elon Musk posted numerous times on his platform about the case, including offering to fund a private prosecution of Hampshire Constabulary.
Sir Keir Starmer has accused him of “interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division – that is not who we are in Britain”.
When questioned about the tech mogul’s comments, Mr Lammy said: “I think there’s an IPO this week in the States on Starlink. Elon Musk should get on with that. I mean, tweeting over 100 times about this tragic, horrific case.
“Anyone who’s seen the video [of Nowak], it’s so harrowing and appalling. I’ve got two teenage sons.
“My heart goes out to the Nowak family. Let us not exploit their situation. They have asked for calm, they have asked of course for us to look closely at the issues around knife crime.
“Let us respect them. Elon Musk really, I think, he should stay out of this complex but painful situation for that family.”
Nigel Farage has also been heavily criticised by MPs across the political spectrum after he posted a video on Tuesday morning, calling for “pure, cold rage” in response to the murder.
Violent protests broke out that evening outside Southampton police station, with 11 police officers and a dog injured.
The prime minister said Mr Farage’s actions were “unforgivable” and accused him of “only pretending” to sympathise with the teenager’s family, who had specifically appealed for their son’s death not to be used to create division.
Asked why he did not immediately condemn the scenes which saw nearly a dozen officers injured in clashes with protesters on Tuesday, Mr Farage told GB News: “Of course I condemn all violence. I always have… I’ve never, in 35 years of being in politics, advocated people going outside the law.
“When I did that big video that got all those millions of views, I was quite careful not to blame the police officers themselves too much.”
The Reform leader has said he has agreed to meet Mr Nowak’s family, following similar meetings with Kemi Badenoch and Sir Keir.
