UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly accused Elon Musk on June 4 of interfering in British politics and stirring social division over the fatal stabbing of Henry Nowak [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Nowak, an 18-year-old white student, was fatally stabbed in Southampton in December 2025 by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh man [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Digwa was sentenced on June 1 to at least 21 years in prison [2, 3, 5].
The murder sparked outrage after police handcuffed Nowak while he lay dying, following Digwa’s false claim that Nowak had racially abused him. This led to public protests and allegations of police bias against white victims [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Far-right figures such as Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson have argued the police showed racial bias, a claim Starmer and law enforcement strongly deny. "We need to also assert who we are as a country, because Musk, again, has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division. That is not who we are in Britain," Starmer said [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
There were violent protests on June 2 linked to the "Justice for Henry Nowak" movement, resulting in injuries to police and arrests [2, 4, 5]. Starmer condemned the violence as "unforgivable" and called it exploitative to use Nowak’s death to stir tension [2, 3, 5]. Nowak’s family met privately with Starmer on June 4, denouncing the police’s treatment of Nowak as "inhumane and degrading" while urging the case not be used to create division [3, 5]. The police watchdog is currently investigating the conduct of officers involved in handcuffing the dying victim [1].
Elon Musk has posted repeatedly on X, accusing the UK and police of systemic racism against whites and criticizing institutions involved. He offered to fund a private prosecution against police and insulted Hampshire Police over their handling of the case [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Musk also faces a lawsuit supported by Starmer from Labour MP Jess Asato over xAI’s Grok AI generating fake sexualized images of her [1, 3, 5].
Starmer highlighted calm and tolerance as British values following the case, saying, "In Britain we are reasonable, tolerant people. When we have a terrible case like Henry’s case, Henry Nowak, we react calmly as his family has done" [1]. Musk has also criticized Starmer’s record from 2008-2013 when he was chief public prosecutor [3, 5].
The next key date will be the ongoing police watchdog investigation into officer conduct in this case. Meanwhile, tensions remain over the use of the Nowak case in public discourse amid ongoing legal actions involving Musk and his companies.
