Summary

  • Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy is being quizzed on this morning's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

  • Asked about the Henry Nowak murder, he denies there is so-called two-tier policing in the UK

  • Lammy also says he told US Vice-President JD Vance his comments about the case were "wrong"

  • Earlier this week, Vance said Nowak's death was fuelled by "mass invasion of migrants"

  • The handling of the student's murder has fuelled criticism of the police by some this week - all of this morning's guests will be asked about the case

  • We're also hearing from shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho and Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf

  • You can watch the programme live at the top of this page from 09:00 BST

  1. Lammy says Vance's Henry Nowak comments were 'wrong'published at 09:35 BST

    Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy says he spoke to JD Vance yesterday "and I told him he was wrong" over his Henry Nowak comments this week.

    The US vice-president blamed the death of the 18-year-old British student, who was fatally stabbed last year in Southampton by Vickrum Digwa, on the "mass invasion of migrants" and said the "only response" was "righteous anger".

    Migration has come down in the UK and so has murder, Lammy says. "The young man who perpetrated this crime was a Brit," he says, adding that Nowak's family has called for calm.

    Asked about policing in the context of Nowak's murder, Lammy says the "starting point" is that "we are all equal before the law".

    He says context sometimes matters, with ethnic minorities still "disproportionately in the criminal justice system". But he adds that this cannot eclipse violence or undermine the police's ability to act.

    Lammy says he doesn't agree there is "two-tier" policing in the UK.

    Asked whether the police is institutionally racist, Lammy says he thinks the country has moved on.

    On ceremonial knives - and whether there will be a law change - he says there are over half a million Sikhs in the country and they are "overwhelmingly a peaceful law-abiding community who rejected this killer".

  2. MPs offer split views on political response to Henry Nowak killingpublished at 09:18 BST

    From left to right: Deputy PM David Lammy, sitting on a red chair; presenter Laura Kuenssberg standing; Claire Coutinho sitting; and Zia Yusuf sitting

    Laura Kuennsberg opens the show by asking guests how they think each of their parties has handled the response to the murder of Henry Nowak.

    Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy credits the government and opposition for coming "together in their response", but says that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage "was found wanting".

    In response, Reform's Zia Yusuf says Farage's response "showed enormous courage".

    "He has set the agenda, saying look, we've got to call out racism and prejudice in policing and everywhere else, wherever we see it, and he was very courageous to say that white lives matter as much as black lives or anyone else's," says Yusuf.

    Conservative Claire Coutinho, meanwhile, says "far too much of the conversation this week has been about political leaders, and not actually what we can do to make sure that this doesn't happen to someone else's child".

  3. Watch live as Kuenssberg beginspublished at 09:00 BST

    It's 09:00 BST, which means Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg has just started.

    We'll hear from Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho and Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf.

    First up, we'll hear from the panel - Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, Liberal Democrats MP Josh Babarinde, and broadcaster Kay Burley.

    As a reminder, we won't be posting regular live text updates from the programme, but you can watch the show live at the top of this page.

  4. Analysis

    A torrid political argument is raging over Nowak murder casepublished at 08:49 BST

    Laura Kuenssberg
    Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

    Henry Nowak's mum and dad were being shown round the Victorian maze that is the Houses of Parliament when they heard politicians talking about their 18-year-old son's murder.

    What is clear is that the student's family did not want their son's death to provoke an angry conversation about race, or divide the country. They do want answers and accountability for the police's action. They want their son's killer Digwa's 21-year sentence to be reviewed.

    And they want the law changed so that large Sikh ceremonial knives are not exempt from the rules on carrying weapons.

    There is, of course, an important conversation to be had about modern policing. There is a serious debate to be had about whether fears of causing offence or being accused of prejudice alters behaviour, particularly in the public services on which we all rely.

    A torrid political argument is raging, one that's gone way beyond the tragedy of one family – it's a new fault line in British politics.

    MPs had rounded on Reform leader Nigel Farage as he repeated his claim that "growing millions" in the UK believe we live under what he has long described as "two-tier policing".

    But Reform is overtly using this case aggressively to make their wider arguments about the country, safe in the knowledge that while other politicians, and some of the public, find their arguments repellent and wrong headed, some of their supporters are on side.

  5. David Lammy in the hot seat on this week's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg - watch livepublished at 08:41 BST

    British Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy walks outside 10 Downing Street.Image source, Reuters

    Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy will take the hot seat on this week's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

    Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho and Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf will also be facing questions on the show.

    It follows a week of political fallout following the release of bodycam footage showing 18-year-old Henry Nowak being handcuffed after being stabbed by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa in December 2025.

    What happened and why has the case caused national outrage?

    During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage reiterated his stance that the case is indicative of Britain's "two-tier policing" - an idea that the government has rejected.

    PM Keir Starmer accused Farage of exploiting Nowak's death to create "grievance and division". And, after US Vice-President JD Vance weighed in on the case, Downing Street hit out at "people trying to interfere with our democracy and seeking to stir up division".

    The panel on today's show will be made up of Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, Liberal Democrats MP Josh Babarinde and broadcaster Kay Burley.

    Whilst we won't be bringing you regular text updates, you can watch the programme live right here on this page from 09:00 BST.