LONDON (AP) — Britain's deputy prime minister said Sunday that he told U.S. Vice President JD Vance he was wrong to blame immigration for the death of a university student who was handcuffed as he lay dying from a stab wound.
David Lammy, who is also the justice minister, said he challenged Vance in what he described as a “robust” phone call on Saturday. Lammy and Vance have struck up a friendship, based on their religious beliefs and family backgrounds, even though they come from different sides of the political spectrum.
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FILE - Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, right, and US Vice President JD Vance fish in a lake in the grounds of Chevening House in Kent, England, Aug. 8, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett/Pool via AP, File)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he visits STARK, a leading defence tech company in Swindon, England, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)
People gather to protest outside Southampton police station, Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026, after the fatal stabbing of Henry Nowak, a British teenager who was handcuffed despite claiming he was the crime victim. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
In this image taken from PA Video, police and protestors clash during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak, a 18-year-old student stabbed to death with a Sikh kirpan ceremonial by Vickrum Digwa, in Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
Vice President JD Vance speaks with reporters upon arriving on Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, Pool)
“We had an agreeable conversation because we have got a relationship, but I wanted to make him clear that I disagree with some of the facts that he was asserting and to present the facts to him," Lammy told Sky News.
The call came a day after Vance said in a post on social platform X that there should be “righteous anger” in response to the murder of Henry Nowak, 18, who died in December after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in the English city of Southampton.
Digwa, who is Sikh, falsely claimed to police he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak, who was white. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded man as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.
Vance appeared to blame the murder in part on “the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.”
Lammy said he wanted to “emphasize a number of things” to Vance, including that the killer was British and is now behind bars.
"This has got nothing to do with mass migration," Lammy said.
Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with an 8-inch (21 centimeter) Sikh dagger and sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term.
The case has been seized on by anti-immigration activists and politicians in the U.K. On Tuesday, police in Southampton were pelted with chairs, cans, rocks and flares after a demonstration over Nowak’s death attended by far-right figures and others.
In a statement issued Friday in response to Vance's comments, Prime Minister Keir Starmer 's office criticized people “trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigates allegations of police wrongdoing, is probing the actions of police officers on the scene.
The victim’s father, Mark Nowak, has said the case was not about racism or religion, and that he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets and not to be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”
Lammy also said he told Vance “it’s not helpful to tweet in this way, partly because of what the Nowak family have asked for, and reminded him about their desire not to make this an issue of division and hatred, but to make this an issue of common sense.”
FILE - Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, right, and US Vice President JD Vance fish in a lake in the grounds of Chevening House in Kent, England, Aug. 8, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett/Pool via AP, File)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as he visits STARK, a leading defence tech company in Swindon, England, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)
People gather to protest outside Southampton police station, Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026, after the fatal stabbing of Henry Nowak, a British teenager who was handcuffed despite claiming he was the crime victim. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
In this image taken from PA Video, police and protestors clash during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak, a 18-year-old student stabbed to death with a Sikh kirpan ceremonial by Vickrum Digwa, in Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
Vice President JD Vance speaks with reporters upon arriving on Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, Pool)
BERLIN (AP) — A van slammed into people gathered for Berlin’s famed LGBTQ+ event on Saturday night, killing one person, injuring at least 16 others and prompting police to call off the celebrations and a concert in the German capital hours after they had begun.
Police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the site of the event immediately as ambulances and firefighters attended to the victims.
“We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects,” police officer Florian Nath said on a short video released on the Berlin police account on X.
Police spokesperson Alexander Klute told The Associated Press later that “at this point, we don’t know anything about possible motives, the identity of the perpetrator or the perpetrators, or anything of that nature.”
According to police, a white van had driven into the Tiergarten park around 10 p.m., which is next to the route that the pride march had passed along earlier, and hit several people before colliding with a tree. Police could not say how many officers had been deployed to the scene but that it was “definitely a lot of police.”
Overall, more than 2,200 police officers have been on duty in Berlin since Saturday morning to protect the pride parade and other LGBTQ+ events in the city.
Police were conducting witness interrogations at the park during the night and were investigating accounts that in addition to the crash some victims appeared to have suffered stab wounds — but that it was too early to draw any conclusion from those accounts.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying that “following a peaceful and vibrant pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner.”
“This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society,” Wegner said. “I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate.”
Meanwhile, authorities called on possible witnesses to come forward and share with police any video or photos they might have taken at the scene of the attack.
The city also activated a crisis hotline for people missing friends or family members.
Hundreds of thousands of people had come to Berlin on Saturday to celebrate at Berlin’s pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It’s one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.
The pride event in front of the city’s Brandenburg Gate, near Tiergarten, was called off around 10:15 p.m. and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People were urged to go home and to avoid taking the route through the park.
Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and cheering the around 80 floats that participated in the parade.
Julian Miethig, who had attended the LGBTQ+ party at the Brandenburg Gate earlier, said he had just wanted to go to an afterparty when he heard from a friend that “something bad happened there and there are a lot of fire trucks, a lot of emergency vehicles, ambulances.”
He said he went to Tiergarten and was shocked that something like this could have happened at Berlin’s pride celebrations.
“It’s a dark day for the community,” he said.
Mayor Kai Wegner speaks to the media in Berlin, early Sunday, July 26, 2026, following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day festivities. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Emergency personnel gather at an intersection following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day activities in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Fanny Brodersen)
Emergency personnel use flashlights following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day in the Tiergarten area of Berlin on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP)
Emergency personnel gather following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day festivities in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
A person wrapped in a thermal blanket stands near emergency personnel following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day festivities in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/dpa/dpa via AP)
The crowd celebrate during the Pride March in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Emergency personnel tend to a person on a stretcher following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day in Berlin on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Andreas Rabenstein/dpa via AP)
People march with a rainbow flag during the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP)
People wave during the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP)
People stand on 17 June Street following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP)
Participants with dog masks attend the Pride March in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
People march with a rainbow flag during the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP)
People carry a "Leather Pride Flag" during the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP)
People wave during the Christopher Street Day parade in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP)
Police officers are on the scene following the cancellation of Christopher Street Day in Berlin, on Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Fabian Sommer/dpa/dpa via AP)
