The UK Justice secretary of state has told his illegal fishing buddy, US VP J D Vance, that he is wrong to comment on the Nowak case.
Sky News reports:
But Sky's Trevor Phillips asks why Vance should not intervene in this case, but it was acceptable for Sir Keir Starmer and many others to have expressed views about the death of George Floyd, for example.
The deputy PM replies that there was "horror right across the globe" to Floyd's death.
But primarily, Lammy argues that Labour was in opposition at that time, and "when you're on the backbenches or in opposition, you're free, frankly, to reflect on anything".
He goes on: "No case is exactly the same, but here we have a family who've asked for a specific response.
There might have been horror right across the globe relating to the killing of a convicted felon and wife-beater off his head on Fentanyl but apparently not the same 'horror' is called for over the killing of a student who was not a convicted felon or wife-beater and not off his head on fentanyl and was already stabbed with a fatal wound when he was arrested instead of immediately being put in an ambulance.
Yes, US police put their knee on Floyd's neck and ignored the fact that he couldn't breathe but the UK police didn't need to use the knee as Nowak was already dying, although at least one officer didn't think so.
FNN thought 'assisted dying' was still illegal in the UK?
Where are all the people 'taking the knee' for Nowak who is far more deserving of this acknowledgement?
Where are football matches being stopped for the take the knee moment?
The Express reports:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2213787/david-lammy-Henry-Nowak-US-police-racism
David Lammy admitted he wouldn't take the knee for Henry Nowak because the murdered teenager's family are not "asking for symbolism".
Many politicians, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and some police chiefs took the knee after George Floyd’s murder in the US.
Asked if he would do the same for Mr Nowak, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “I think no, because look, I don't think that the family are asking for symbolism.
The family may have asked for a specific response that doesn't include 'taking the knee' however this has only served a purpose to provide a convenient excuse for the Government to shut down outrage - the kind of outrage the Floyd killing caused in the USA and around the world.
If the family had asked us all to stand on our heads would we have done it?
This is just irrelevant nonsense, political game-playing with a tragedy.
Even Mumsnet was confused:
David Lammy has said he wouldn't take the knee for Nowak as it's just symbolism.
He was asked why did he take the knee for George Floyd, and he said it was different then because we were in a pandemic.
What do you think? I think he's right about the first point but don't understand what the knee has got to do with the pandemic.
There was another Labour MP on Newsnight this week who's clearly embarrassed that she took the knee and said something like "it was right then but that's in the past now and we shouldn't go back to it"
A bit like going back to the EU then?
Presumably the pandemic was to blame because we were all off our heads on COVID 'vaccines'?
Floyd's family did not ask for his killing to results in billions of dollars worth of damage and over a dozen deaths but that's what they got in the USA when the BLM protestors were egged on by various idiots worldwide, including from the UK, who were quite happy to interfere in US politics particularly if they could 'stick one' to Trump, which was clearly the real reason behind the support for protestors as how else could you justify the violence, looting and killings?
Vance remembers this. Lammy is trying to bury the memory of that response.
Back in 2020, he himself said:
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/david-lammy-on-the-black-lives-matter-movement-DWyXrN_2/
"It feels like that perennial issue of policing remains a sore, remains a scar," David said, going on to point out many instances of heavy handed officers in the UK which went viral in the months following the death of George Floyd.
And now he is Justice secretary, what has he done about it? Nothing.
He also said back in 2020:
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/question-time-david-lammy-george-floyd-a4460441.html
Speaking on BBC's Question Time the Tottenham MP said the UK has its "own problems" of structural racism and discrimination.
"George Floyd looks like us, could be us," said Mr Lammy.
But George Floyd does not 'look like us, could be us'.
Maybe in Tottenham but statistically not in most of the rest of the UK.
It may come as news to Mr Lammy but most British people are not convicted felons, wife beaters and fentanyl addicts - of course some are - but it's hardly what comes to mind when you think of the British 'values' the government keeps on lecturing us about.
There may be well be structural racism and discrimination in Britain but there is also structural pandering to the whims of minorities, like allowing the carrying of ceremonial knives.
It has taken this murder to force a call for a review into the carrying of ceremonial weapons by religious minorities - something that most 'British' people probably did not know was even legal. And now the government is trumpeting the fact that 'we are going to look into it'.
And by the way Mr Lammy, it is not 'British' to carry a ceremonial knife so cut the 'British' crap.
It's about as British as female genital mutilation another of the UK's imported British 'values' like roast beef and yorkshire pudding.
You can bet your life if it was the Aryan Nation carrying ceremonial SS knives then the outrage would be quite different if a Sikh was stabbed.
The Justice secretary should resign for his 'unhelpful' comments but like his boss Starmer, he won't.