Why was Lammy critical of Vance?

David Lammy says he told JD Vance he was wrong

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said he spoke by phone with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance to tell him his comments about the Henry Nowak murder were “wrong.” The provided stories connect Lammy’s criticism to a U.S. political post that blamed the teenager’s death on a “mass invasion of migrants,” which sparked international backlash.

Lammy’s intervention matters because the Henry Nowak case quickly became a cross-border political flashpoint. British officials and lawmakers faced mounting outrage after reports described the role of online misinformation and far-right amplification around the killing. The controversy also fed into broader debates over policing and immigration.

In the stories provided, Lammy’s message to Vance is presented as a direct diplomatic and political response: he said he called to dispute the framing that migrants were responsible for the death.

What to watch next

• Whether the U.S. side responds directly to Lammy’s account.
• The extent to which British officials pursue additional statements about “two-tiered policing,” as multiple items in the pool describe UK authorities responding to public criticism.
• How the Henry Nowak case continues to affect political narratives in both the U.K. and the U.S.

The case itself has also produced domestic legal and protest developments in the U.K., including charges related to protests over Nowak’s death—showing that the dispute over political messaging is running alongside ongoing criminal proceedings.

Overall, Lammy’s comments put a spotlight on how U.S. domestic political figures are interpreted in the U.K. when discussing a high-profile British murder.