Downing Street has strongly criticized individuals attempting to interfere in British democracy and sow division following comments made by US Senator JD Vance regarding the murder of Henry Nowak.

Nowak, an 18-year-old British student, was fatally stabbed in December by Vickrum Digwa. Vance attributed the death to a "mass invasion of migrants," stating the "only response is righteous anger."

A Downing Street spokesman responded to Vance's post on X, emphasizing that the Nowak family "do not want his death to be used to create further division." The spokesman added, "Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible of circumstances. That is who we are as a country."

In his statement, Vance described Nowak's killing as "tragic as it is enraging," suggesting that Nowak would still be alive if "European elites" had resisted "the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants."

Vance's remarks echoed a recent US State Department post on X, which stated, "Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West."

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accused tech billionaire Elon Musk of attempting to incite division over Nowak's murder. Musk had posted on X, urging recipients to "Send the video to everyone you know showing how heinously Nowak was treated by the police in his dying moments and how the police cravenly kowtowed to his murderer."

Violent protests erupted in Southampton on Tuesday after the release of bodycam footage showing police handcuffing Nowak while he was dying. The footage emerged after Digwa falsely claimed to be the victim of a racist attack. During the protests, eleven officers and one police dog were injured by thrown missiles, leading to two arrests.

Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years. He used a 21cm blade, which he stated he carried as part of his Sikh faith, to kill Nowak. Nowak was walking home alone after a night out with friends on December 3rd. The Conservative and Reform UK parties have criticized the handling of the case, arguing against "two-tier policing" based on race. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey stated that "we all need to resist attempts like this to politicise Henry Nowak's death."