Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, has launched a review to examine whether opportunities were missed to prevent the murder of the student Henry Nowak. It follows claims that there were several warning signs that the perpetrator, Vickrum Digwa, had a history of threatening behaviour and an obsession with weapons. Nowak, 18, died in December after being fatally stabbed as he walked home from a night out in Southampton.
He was handcuffed by police officers while bleeding to death after Digwa falsely accused Nowak of racial abuse. In police body-worn camera footage which prompted a public outcry, Nowak was heard repeatedly saying: “I’ve been stabbed,” to which an officer replied: “Don’t think you have, mate.” Nowak’s death sparked widespread protests, allegations of “two-tier policing” and a spike in racist attacks against the UK’s Sikh community. Digwa, a Sikh, was carrying two knives, including a kirpan, on the night of the killing.
Carrying the blade is permitted in the UK for religious purposes. Digwa, 23, has subsequently been accused by young local Sikhs of using threatening behaviour in a Southampton gurdwara, or temple, in the months leading up to the fatal attack on Nowak. The Sun reported that Digwa was seen brandishing an airgun in his back garden in October 2022.
A neighbour who recorded him firing shots said she reported this to the police, but Hampshire constabulary was unable to find a record of the incident. Speaking in the Commons, Mahmood said the review would be led by the former Conservative lord chancellor Alex Chalk KC and would report its initial findings within five months. My thoughts today are with Henry’s family and his friends, who have shown extraordinary courage and dignity,” she said.
The investigation is looking at why they did not recognise that Nowak needed urgent medical attention and at the decision to arrest him rather than provide first aid. Nowak’s family welcomed the review as a “significant moment” in their fight for justice. The emotional toll of that fight, on top of the unimaginable grief of losing Henry, has been immense,” the family said.
He has been given permission to challenge the length of that sentence at the court of appeal on 5 November. Kiran Kaur, Digwa’s mother, was also jailed for three years for assisting an offender after she removed the knife used by her son. The knife was found by police at their family home along with more than 20 other weapons.
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