KEIR Starmer has been urged to summon the US ambassador to the UK after the State Department “fanned the flames of division” on Henry Nowak’s murder.
The US department, led by Marco Rubio and responsible for foreign policy, criticised “two-tiered policing” in the UK in a social media post, mirroring language used by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
Farage repeated his claims of “two-tier policing” in the UK at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday, after he had called for people to respond with “pure, cold rage” to the murder of Nowak, 18, in a social media video.
His killer, Vickrum Digwa, had claimed he had been the victim of a racist attack.
Farage did not call out violence that erupted in Southampton after his video message inflamed tensions, despite repeated calls from MPs for him to do so.
Hampshire Police said 11 officers and a police dog were injured during protests in Southampton.
The owner of X/Twitter, Elon Musk, and Farage, are among those who have claimed the circumstances around Nowak’s death in Southampton were evidence of bias against white people. Both have been accused of exploiting the teenager’s death and whipping up division, against the wishes of his family.
And now, the US State Department has weighed in, writing on X/Twitter: “Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West.
“The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time.”
Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West. The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time.
— Department of State (@StateDept) June 4, 2026
The LibDems have urged the Prime Minister to summon the US ambassador, Warren Stephens, over the comments.
Calum Miller, the party’s Foreign Affairs spokesman, said: “The three main parliamentary party leaders were right to call for calm, respect and unity yesterday.
“The Trump administration should not be using the tragic murder of Henry Nowak as a political football.
“This is flagrant foreign interference that seeks to fan the flames of division and the Prime Minister should summon the US ambassador immediately.”
David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, rejected the intervention from the US on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“Well, I saw the message, and obviously we work very closely with the United States,” the Justice Secretary said.
“Our law enforcement, in fact, works very closely with the United States, and I saw that there was a message of condolence to the family, and I thank the United States for that message of condolence.
“I don’t recognise this caricature of a two-tier policing system in our country.
“I just don’t see it in the interactions I have with policing, and so I do reject that.”
He also said Musk should “step back” from tweeting about the case of Nowak and “get on with” his Initial Public Offerings (IPO) for Starlink.
“I think there’s an IPO this week in the States on Starlink. Elon Musk should get on with that. I mean, tweeting over 100 times about this tragic, horrific case,” Lammy said.
“Anyone who’s seen the video, it’s so harrowing and appalling. I’ve got two teenage sons.
“My heart goes out to the Nowak family. Let us not exploit their situation. They have asked for calm, they have asked of course for us to look closely at the issues around knife crime.
“Let us respect them. Elon Musk really, I think, he should stay out of this complex but painful situation for that family.”
He later added: “I urge Elon Musk to stay out of tweeting about this sensitive case.”
But he said he was not minded to stop using X as a platform.
“I don’t spend time on X surfing Elon Musk tweets, so I haven’t read them, but I’m not sure any of them reached the standard that require that. But I think it is appropriate for politicians to urge Elon Musk to step back.”
