UK Denounces Interference in Democracy After Vance's Comments on Murder

The British government has denounced "those who try to interfere" in democracy, following a sharp condemnation from U.S. Vice President JD Vance regarding the handling of the murder of Henry Nowak, a white student. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that "people who try to interfere in our democracy and seek to sow division in our streets" have been observed.

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We have seen people who try to interfere in our democracy and seek to sow division in our streets.

Downing Street emphasized that Nowak's family has made it clear they do not want their son's death "used to create more division, hate, or tension." This statement came after Vance took to X, formerly Twitter, to link Nowak's murder to what he described as the decline of civilization caused by mass migration. "Henry Nowak died the way civilization dies: abandoned, shackled by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit," Vance wrote.

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Henry Nowak died the way civilization dies: abandoned, shackled by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit.

Nowak, 18, was fatally stabbed by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh man, on December 3, 2025, as he was returning from a party in Southampton. Police were seen handcuffing Nowak while he lay injured, and a video captured him weakly saying, "I can't breathe." Vance further commented on X, "His murder is as tragic as it is outrageous." He added, "Today he should be alive, and he would be if the last generations of European elites had stood firm against the policies of self-loathing and mass migration of peoples, many of whom despise the West and those who love it."

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His murder is as tragic as it is outrageous.

Digwa was sentenced to at least 21 years in prison for the murder and for falsely telling police that the student had uttered racist slurs. The case has become highly politicized in the UK.

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Today he should be alive, and he would be if the last generations of European elites had stood firm against the policies of self-loathing and mass migration of peoples, many of whom despise the West and those who love it.