Lauge Risom Koch 
The UK government has rejected JD Vance’s claim that mass immigration was behind violent unrest linked to the murder of British student Henry Nowak.
The British government has pushed back against comments by US Vice President JD Vance after he linked violent unrest in the UK to mass immigration.
The dispute follows the conviction of a British Sikh man for the murder of an 18-year-old student in Southampton.
London responds
According to Digi24, citing EFE and Agerpres, British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy called Vance to challenge his remarks.
“This has nothing to do with mass immigration, let’s be clear! This young man was British,” Lammy told Sky News.
He said he told Vance directly: “Mr. Vice President, you are wrong here!”
Lammy described the conversation as polite but said he made his disagreement clear.
Murder case
The controversy follows the sentencing of 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa to life in prison for the murder of student Henry Nowak.
According to Digi24, Digwa stabbed Nowak to death in Southampton on December 3, 2025.
Police footage later showed officers handcuffing the wounded student after Digwa falsely claimed he had been attacked in a racist incident.
Nowak was heard saying “I can’t breathe” and “I’ve been stabbed” before becoming unresponsive.
Vance criticised
Vance described the killing as “tragic and unacceptable” and blamed European leaders for migration policies he said had weakened Western societies.
According to Digi24, he wrote that Nowak had been “abandoned” by authorities.
A British government spokesperson later accused unnamed figures of interfering in UK democracy and trying to create division.
These remarks were widely understood as relating to Vance.
Sources: Digi24, EFE, Agerpres
