David Lammy Denies ‘Two-Tier Policing’ in the UK on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg — Watch Live

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said he told US Vice-President JD Vance that Vance was “wrong” over comments linking the death of British student Henry Nowak to migration. Lammy said he spoke to Vance yesterday and challenged the remarks directly, after the vice-president blamed the fatal stabbing of the 18-year-old in Southampton last year on a “mass invasion of migrants” and said the only response was “righteous anger.”

Lammy said migration has fallen in the UK and murder has also fallen, arguing that the attacker was a British citizen. He said Nowak’s family had called for calm and rejected attempts to use the case to fuel wider claims about immigration. The comments came amid political tension over policing, immigration and public safety.

Asked about policing in relation to the case, Lammy said the starting point must be that everyone is equal before the law. He said context can matter, and noted that ethnic minorities remain disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. However, he said that should not overshadow violence or weaken the police’s ability to respond firmly to crime. Lammy said he does not agree with the idea that the UK has “two-tier” policing.

He was also asked whether police in Britain are institutionally racist. Lammy said he believes the country has moved on from that era, suggesting progress has been made in policing and public institutions.

On the issue of ceremonial knives and possible legal changes, Lammy said the Sikh community in the UK numbers more than half a million people and is overwhelmingly peaceful and law-abiding. He said Sikhs had rejected the actions of the killer, underlining that the community should not be associated with the crime.

Lammy’s remarks appear intended to push back against attempts to frame the killing as evidence of broader migration or policing failures. His intervention also reflects the sensitivity of the case, which has drawn attention because of Vance’s comments and because the victim’s death has been used in political debate about crime, identity and immigration.

The exchange highlights differences between UK and US political rhetoric on migration and criminal justice, with Lammy emphasizing statistics on falling migration and murder rates, while defending Britain’s police and its approach to equality before the law.