US-UK relations in crisis as JD Vance blames Henry Nowak’s death on migration

The murder of a British teenager has left a family grieving and triggered unrest in the UK. Now it has also become a flashpoint in growing tensions between the White House and Downing Street, as US Vice President JD Vance blamed the student’s death on the “the mass invasion of migrants”.

Downing Street hit back, calling out “people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets”.

Henry Nowak, 18, died after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, 23, in Southampton in December. Mr Nowak had repeatedly told police officers that he had been stabbed and could not breathe, but was arrested after Digwa falsely claimed Mr Nowak had racially abused him.

Protests broke out in Southampton earlier this week, as Reform leader Nigel Farage called for “pure cold rage” over the incident and accused officers of “two-tier” policing. Eleven people have been charged with violent disorder.

On Friday, Vance wrote a lengthy social media post blaming Mr Nowak’s murder on mass migration. He claimed that the student “should still be alive today, and he would be if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants.”

During sentencing, a judge said Mr Nowak’s injuries were so severe that he would not have survived however quickly he received treatment.

The official channel for the US State Department also commented on the incident, claiming that “ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilisational decline” which “must be rejected across the West”.

Vance’s comments drew an unusually strong response from Sir Keir Starmer. “In recent days we have seen people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.” No 10 said in a statement, which did not name Vance.

It added:”The Nowak family are grieving after Henry’s horrific murder. They have said they do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We should be respecting their wishes.”

It marks the latest blow to US-UK relations after a tense few months, in which Donald Trump insulted Starmer as “no Winston Churchill”, called British warships “toys” after the UK’s refusal to join America’s war with Iran, and falsely claimed that the USA’s allies did not serve on the front line in Afghanistan.

‘Demise of special relationship’

Transatlantic tension has spiked since Trump returned to office in January last year, with the US President sounding alarm bells in London by making clear his intention to seize Greenland – the territory of a European ally – wavering in support for Ukraine and insulting European contributions to the war in Afghanistan.

Members of the Trump administration have also proved unusually willing to weigh in on the domestic politics of their allies.

Last month the President claimed it would be “tough” for Starmer to survive as Prime Minister “unless he can straighten out immigration, where he’s weak” and unless he rowed back on green energy plans.

The previous year, Vance launched a scathing attack on European allies over free speech and migration, claiming the greatest threat facing the Continent was not from Russia and China, but “from within”.

David Andersen, professor of US politics at Durham University, said Vance’s comments on Mr Nowak’s murder “signal a demise of, or at least a break in, the special relationship that the US and UK have traditionally had.

“It would be very rare to find prior examples of the US interfering in other countries domestic affairs like this before Trump, particularly with the UK.

“There has traditionally been a strong level of respect between the two countries, and an understanding that the people in each nation govern with their own interests at heart. This means that leaders from one nation generally refrain from commenting on the actions and decisions of the other, simply out of respect for the different cultures and issues present.

“The Trump administration clearly no longer respects this, and feels comfortable wading into domestic conflicts in the UK.”

Andersen said Starmer’s “sharp rebuttal” was “one in a growing series of tense moments between the two nations, as the special relationship frays”.

‘Little choice but to make do and mend’

Dr Jonny Hall, a fellow at the London School of Economics, said the comments were “yet another example of the current Trump administration criticising the domestic politics of their traditional allies.

“The current rate of insults likely reflects the disagreements of the US and the UK over the Iran War, which Trump has repeatedly referred to, but really this is now the modus operandi of Trump 2.0 diplomacy.”

However, the close military, economic and cultural ties mean the UK has little choice but to attempt to make do and mend the special relationship, Hall suggested. The partnership “runs a lot deeper” than diplomatic spats, and it is unlikely that comments like this would cause “meaningful disruption at the everyday level”.

But as personal insults and political divides become increasingly common between Downing Street and the White House, the relationship feels perhaps more strained than special.

The White House and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office have been approached for comment.