Sir Keir Starmer has accused tech billionaire Elon Musk of attempting to stir division regarding the murder of Henry Nowak.

Violent protests erupted in Southampton after bodycam footage emerged showing officers handcuffing 18-year-old Nowak while he lay dying. His killer, Vickrum Digwa, had asserted he was targeted in a racist incident.

The video of Nowak's last moments has triggered widespread political responses across the UK, alongside Musk's repeated criticisms of how police handled the teenager.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged cross-party efforts to restore public confidence in policing after meeting Nowak's family on Thursday, with Sir Keir scheduled to meet them later.

In an X post on Tuesday, Musk stated: Send the video to everyone you know showing how heinously Nowak was treated by the police in his dying moments and how the police cravenly kowtowed to his murderer.

Legacy mainstream media, same ones who wrote about George Floyd millions of times, are dead silent about Nowak.

Floyd died of a heart attack from neck compression after a police officer handcuffed him and knelt on his neck, sparking worldwide demonstrations against racism and police misconduct.

During a visit to York on Thursday, Sir Keir accused Musk of meddling in UK politics and noted the grieving family had called for calm.

He said: 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.

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 have done.

On Thursday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch posted on X that she had met Nowak's mother, father and stepmother, and praised their courage.

She wrote: They have asked that we work across political parties and religions to rebuild trust in the police. That trust has been broken because of what happened, and I agree with them on that.

We must also be prepared to examine, carefully and seriously, religious practices or exemptions that permit the carrying of dangerous weapons in public, and other activities that are not conducive to the public good. We also need to examine where the law needs to change.

Digwa, 23, received a life sentence with a minimum term of 21 years for murder on Monday, after which Henry Nowak's father, Mark, appealed for calm outside the court.

He said: We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to make our streets safer for everyone.

Sir Keir said the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), was investigating the officers' conduct and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) guidance around race was under review following the case.

Asked whether he backed Conservative calls for a full misconduct probe into the involved officers, Sir Keir said: I think it's right that there may need to be changes and we shouldn't shy away from that, not for one moment.

But how we conduct ourselves now as politicians is really important.

And I call on all politicians, all politicians, to just listen again to what the family are asking of us, which is to remain calm, to show the leadership that's needed here and not allow this case to be used to whip up division.

There were heated exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, where Sir Keir accused Nigel Farage of exploiting Nowak's death.

The Reform UK leader had said in a video clip released on Tuesday: Henry's family have responded to this in just the most extraordinarily dignified way. But I suggest the rest of us respond to this with pure, cold rage.

The following day, Farage faced heckling from opposition MPs urging him to condemn the Southampton protests, as he repeated his assertion that anti-racism guidelines for police had resulted in unequal treatment across ethnic groups at PMQs.

Responding, Sir Keir accused Farage of ignoring appeals from Nowak's family that his death should not be used to stoke division in society.

A grieving family have asked us not to respond in the way that the leader of Reform has responded, he told MPs. My response - and the response of others, to be fair - has focused on the lessons to be learned, so we can deliver justice.

His response has been to appeal for rage. Rage - that's his response to a father who's lost his son and asked for that not to happen.

Exploiting this tragedy to create grievance and division would be wrong in any circumstances. But to do it when the family are expressly saying 'please don't' is unforgivable. It shows exactly who he is.

On Wednesday evening, Farage posted another video, where he appeared to step back from his comments, instead focusing on his claim that white people are not being treated fairly or equally under the law.

He said: The point that I was trying to make is that police forces themselves have become so obsessed with DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and with not treating everybody equally, namely treating people differently if they're white as opposed to minority ethnic groups.

But one thing I did achieve was to break the wall of silence, because we did not have senior political figures speaking up in outrage about what had happened.

On Thursday, former Reform MP and now leader of rival party Restore, Rupert Lowe, posted on X warning his supporters not to get involved in attacks on police.

He said: Do not attack the police. Be smart. Stay calm.