Starmer says questions need to be asked over Nowak case but rejects ‘two-tier policing’ claim

Keir Starmer speaks as he visits a defence tech company in Swindon on Friday. PM said in LBC interview that the UK must be ready for war. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Keir Starmer speaks as he visits a defence tech company in Swindon on Friday. PM said in LBC interview that the UK must be ready for war. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images Starmer says questions need to be asked over Nowak case but rejects ‘two-tier policing’ claim PM rebuffs US state department’s criticism, adding police response to murder of Henry Nowak is under review Keir Starmer has rejected the claim that the UK is subject to “two-tier policing” after the Trump administration suggested it was evident in the response to the murder of teenager Henry Nowak. The prime minister said the UK must not shy away from asking difficult questions of the police after officers handcuffed Nowak as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer, Vickrum Digwa, had falsely accused him of racist abuse. Digwa was ultimately convicted of murder and jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years. Starmer said the police’s response was under review but rejected the US state department’s characterisation of UK policing, telling LBC: “It is really important that we are very, very clear, policing without fear or favour, whatever anybody else says, and wherever they’re saying it from, whichever country in the world.” Henry Nowak: controversy behind US intervention in a murder case that has rocked Britain Read more On Thursday night the US state department, responsible for foreign policy and led by Marco Rubio, had waded in to the debate . In a post on X, the department said: “Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilisational 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.” The Liberal Democrats have called for the US ambassador to the UK to be summoned over what they called “flagrant foreign interference that seeks to fan the flames of division”. The party’s leader, Ed Davey, said the Trump administration is “attacking our democracy, not in secret, but openly on social media”. “Starmer needs to show some backbone and call this out today. We can’t turn a blind eye to this blatant interference any longer,” he said. No 10, however, said the relationship with the US remained “incredibly strong” despite the difference of view on policing. It declined to be drawn on whether the US would be rebuked in any diplomatic conversations. The 18-year-old student’s murder has been claimed by some as evidence of two-tier policing in the UK – the argument that some groups of people are dealt with more harshly than others for ideological reasons. View image in fullscreen Henry Nowak was handcuffed by Hampshire police officers as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer, Vickrum Digwa, had falsely accused him of racist abuse. Photograph