Kemi Badenoch 'will not be apologising' to Stephen Lawrence's mother over Henry Nowak comparison
The Tory leader told LBC she did not regret the comments
Kemi Badenoch has refused to apologise to Baroness Doreen Lawrence for bringing her son Stephen into the conversation around Henry Nowak's murder.
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The mother hit out at the Conservative Party leader on Wednesday who said that Henry’s murder and the police response must be a "seminal moment for Britain on a par with the murder of Stephen Lawrence".
Baroness Lawrence called out Ms Badenoch in response, claiming there was "nobody standing up and asking for judgment to happen" for her son after his death in 1993.
But pressed on the matter today by LBC's Luke Shannahan today, the Tory leader said: "I will not be apologising and I do not regret those comments.
"I say things that I believe. I do think that Henry Nowak's murder is a seminal moment, just like the murder of Stephen Lawrence was.
"I stand by that. I don't think that we should be stopped from making comparisons.
"I think that what was special about the Stephen Lawrence murder was that the country saw a wrong had been done.
"We came together to solve it and I think that that's what we should do. Again, I don't think there is anything to apologise for."
Baroness Lawrence shared her condolences with Mr Nowak's family, after the teen was handcuffed by officers as he lay dying in Southampton in December.
But questioning why Ms Badenoch chose to use her son's name in reference to reform, she added that it took 20 years 20 years and more for anybody to understand the murder of my son and to have anybody convicted.
But questioning why Ms Badenoch chose to use her son's name in reference to policing reform, she added that it took "20 years and more for anybody to understand the murder of my son and to have anybody convicted".
She also called on politicians not to halt progress on racial equality in the UK following the murder of university student Henry.
Stephen was murdered in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths as he waits at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, in 1993.
Ms Badenoch was also questioned on claims that policing could be "driven back to the 1960s by false claims officers are biased against white people", made by president of the National Black Police Association, Andy George.
She said: "I do fundamentally disagree with what he is saying. A lot of this new guidance and rules came in in 2021, 2022, so I don't see why he's jumping back to the 1960s.
"I do think that the police are now very confused about how to police because a lot of that guidance, a lot of that training, does not comply with the law.
"The law says treat everyone equally. There is no hierarchy of groups and yet you look at the guidance and it actually creates a hierarchy of groups and it's not just around race policing."
She added: "I've talked about policing being different when it comes to how we treat trans activist protests and gender critical women.
"The pro-Palestine protests versus pro-Israel protests, differences even between how Gypsy Romany travellers are policed.
"So let's look at what's going wrong with the guidance rather than try and pit groups against each other, which I think is what is happening right now with a lot of people who are making comments rather than looking at the substance of the issue."
Henry lay dying as he was arrested by officers in Southampton in December. His killer, Vickrum Digwa, 23, told police at the scene of the stabbing that he had been the victim of a racist attack.
The case has sparked national outrage and sparked violent protests against police on Tuesday which left 11 officers and a dog injured, and the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has announced it will review anti-racism guidance.
The IOPC are investigating and have urged people not to speculate.