David Lammy has rejected claims from the Trump administration that the UK operates a “two-tiered” policing system, dismissing the accusation as a “caricature” he does not recognise. The Deputy Prime Minister’s intervention came after the US State Department posted on X that “ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilisational decline” in relation to the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak.
Lammy rejects ‘two-tier policing’ claims
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lammy said: “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 added that it was “good” police chiefs are reviewing the wording of anti-racism guidance because the “public need clarity in these circumstances” and acknowledged that “there’s not clarity fully in this area”.
The US State Department weighed in after Vickrum Digwa, 23, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years for stabbing Nowak five times with a Sikh ceremonial knife in Southampton on 3 December 2025. Digwa told police Nowak had been racist towards him, leading officers to arrest and handcuff the student before they saw his fatal injuries. Bodycam footage shows Nowak repeatedly telling officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe, with one officer responding, “I don’t think you have, mate.” Hampshire Police’s Chief Constable has since apologised to Nowak’s family, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the actions of the officers involved.
Conservative MP Harriet Cross said the US statement was “clearly not helpful” but acknowledged that “there is concern within the UK of how policing is at the moment” and called for a “return to common sense policing” so that “everyone has equality under the law”. Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller said the Trump administration should not use the murder as a “political football” and urged the prime minister to summon the US ambassador immediately, calling it “flagrant foreign interference”.
Lammy also turned his attention to tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has posted more than 100 times about the Nowak case and offered to fund a wrongful death lawsuit against the police. Lammy told Sky News: “I think there’s an IPO this week in the States on Starlink. Elon Musk should get on with that.” He added: “I urge Elon Musk to stay out of tweeting about this sensitive case.” Keir Starmer has accused Musk of “interfering in our politics” and attempting to create division with posts that employed far-right themes. Nowak’s father has pleaded for his son’s death not to be used to create division, while the Home Secretary has warned against “misinformation and inflammatory commentary”.
Labour leadership speculation intensifies
Amid the controversy, Lammy offered a robust defence of Keir Starmer’s position as Labour leader, insisting that “there is no contest at the moment” and that a leadership race would be “a huge distraction”. He told LBC: “The prime minister, by the way, has been absolutely clear: if there is a contest, he’ll be in it.” Lammy added: “I’ve supported every leader of the Labour party. They’ve had my full loyalty. Keir Starmer has got my loyalty, full loyalty, until the day he no longer wishes to serve.”
The comments followed Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham publicly stating for the first time that he would challenge Starmer if a leadership race materialised. Burnham, who is standing in the upcoming Makerfield by-election – a move that could give him a parliamentary platform – told Question Time: “I think Wes Streeting seems to have launched a leadership contest, so if that is running, I would seek to join it. But I’d have to persuade members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to do the same.” In an interview with the Guardian, Burnham signalled he would begin transforming England’s social care system this year if he became prime minister, saying: “It is urgent, the need to fix social care, and I personally would look at all of the kind of implications of that in relation to inheritance tax and care charges and everything. I wouldn’t flinch from it.”
Wes Streeting has confirmed his intention to run in any future contest, having resigned as Health Secretary and called for a “battle of ideas” rather than personalities within the party. Streeting has also said the UK should rejoin the European Union, describing Brexit as a “catastrophic mistake”. Downing Street pushed back against the speculation, issuing a statement that Starmer “will not walk away” and that “the country expects us to focus on governing and to deliver change for hard-working people, not get distracted by Westminster debates”. Burnham previously stood for the Labour leadership in 2015 but was defeated by Jeremy Corbyn.
Asylum system ‘on brink of collapse’, MPs warn
In a separate development, a cross-party committee of MPs has warned that the UK asylum system is on the brink of collapse, with the government failing to cope with severe pressure and relying on short-term fixes. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said its report provided an “end-to-end snapshot” of the entire system, and its findings “paint a disturbing picture – at the time of our inquiry, control of it had been all but lost”.
Committee chair Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said: “The focus on short term, reactive ‘fixes’ has left the government chasing after pressures pushed from one part of the system to the next. There is no clear strategy uniting these efforts, and engagement across departments and with local authorities is patchy at best.” He added: “Given senior officials’ inability to articulate what the asylum system is collectively trying to achieve, it is no wonder such a directionless bureaucracy ends with people at the heart of it either left in limbo, or lost entirely.”
The PAC found it “shocking and unacceptable” that ministers do not know the whereabouts of all failed asylum seekers. The report also highlighted significant financial waste, with nearly £100 million reportedly lost on failed attempts to house asylum seekers in sites including HMP Northeye, the Bibby Stockholm barge, and RAF Scampton.
In response, the Home Office has announced a series of reforms to asylum and refugee policy. Plans include making refugee status granted in the UK temporary and subject to review every 30 months, making asylum support discretionary, increasing returns of failed asylum seekers, and reforming the appeals system. The government aims to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers by 2029. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who is driving the reforms partly inspired by Denmark’s approach, has acknowledged public horror at the Nowak case footage while stressing efforts to reduce knife crime and warning against “misinformation and inflammatory commentary”.
