The case of Henry Nowak, the 18-year-old stabbed to death seven months ago on a street in Southampton, in the United Kingdom, by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, a British man of Indian origin, holds the case. The matter returned to the spotlight a few days ago after a British court handed down a life sentence to Digwa. The trial confirmed the suspicions that had already emerged after the investigations: immediately after the stabbing, Digwa presented himself to the police, falsely declaring himself the victim of a racist attack. The police believed him and instead of helping Nowak, who was lying injured on the ground, they handcuffed him.
Accusations from the right of “reverse racism”
For the European right, the Southampton events are an emblematic case of “reverse racism”, as well as a consequence of the migration policies of the United Kingdom and of the old continent in general. The case has been brought up several times on social media by Elon Musk who has offered to finance legal action against the officers and wrote on X that in the UK “official police policy requires officers to be racist against white people”. Criticisms to which the English Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded by in turn accusing the Tesla owner of “fueling divisions”.
Vance: “Without immigration he would still be alive”
Yesterday it was the turn of US Deputy Prime Minister JD Vance who published a very harsh post about the episode. “Henry Nowak – explains Vance – died the same way a civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared about him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit.” According to US Vice President Nowak, he would still be alive “if the latest generations of European elites had opposed the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it”.
“Henry was far from the first to lose his life in such a needless way, and I fear he won’t be the last,” Vance’s post reads. “Every time a life like his is lost, the correct response – the only response – is righteous anger. One of the most important things the Trump administration has demonstrated to the world is that stopping the flow of mass migration and defending national sovereignty is a matter of political will and leadership. Everything else is an excuse. It is because we love the West that we want to preserve it. We love our civilization. We love our country. We love our children. And no one – no one – should ever die the way Henry died Nowak. May God comfort those who loved him – concludes the US vice president -, and may God rest his soul”.
Downing Street thus responds to the US administration
Starmer’s response this time was indirect. The English Prime Minister, although not directly quoting Vance (but evidently addressing him and Musk) returned the accusations to the sender. “In recent days – they explain from Downing Street – we have seen people trying to interfere in our democracy and foment division on our streets”.
“The Nowak family is mourning the horrific murder of Henry” reads the note released by the prime minister’s office. “They said they did not want his death to be exploited to create further division, hatred or tension. We must respect their wishes. Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible circumstances. This is who we are as a country.”