Appeals for calm as murder case prompts fears of racial tension
PM condemns Farage for trying to ‘create division’ against family’s wishes
Politicians and community leaders have called for calm amid fears that the populist right are using the murder of Henry Nowak by a Sikh man to whip up racist resentment against minority ethnic Britons.
After Nigel Farage called for the public to respond with “pure, cold rage”, Keir Starmer condemned the Reform UK leader, saying Nowak’s family had explicitly asked that the case not be used to target particular communities.
“Nigel Farage is completely wrong to use this to try and create division,” Starmer said in a TV interview at Downing Street. “He would be wrong in any circumstances, but when Henry’s family are saying, ‘Please don’t do that, it’s our son’, then really, as politicians, as human beings, we should start where they start.”
Nowak, an 18-year-old university student, was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, 23, who used a Sikh dagger, in Southampton in December 2025.
Digwa falsely claimed he had been racially abused and attacked by Nowak. Body camera footage released by Hampshire police showed Nowak being handcuffed despite repeatedly telling police officers that he had been stabbed. At one point an officer tells him: “I don’t think you have, mate.”
The treatment of Nowak by police has been highlighted repeatedly during Digwa’s trial by US hardright commentators, including Elon Musk, who have argued it shows “two tier” policing in which accusations of racism are prioritised.
In what he termed an “emergency address” sent out via social media yesterday morning, Farage repeated this argument, warning that what he termed as an excessive focus on racial equality could lead to “the destruction of society”. He said: “Enough of anti-white prejudice. A promotion of the idea that white lives matter just as much as black lives.” The phrase “white lives matter” originally emerged among US white nationalists as a riposte to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Last night, a crowd of hundreds of people gathered outside Southampton police station after the far right activist Tommy Robinson called people to gather for a “Justice for Henry Nowak” protest.
Some chanted “Racist police, off our streets” and “Shame on you”. They held up union flags and home-made signs including: “Henry’s blood is on your hands”, “Save our kids” and “Prison 4 police on scene.”
Robinson accused Hampshire police of institutional racism and called for Digwa’s family to be forced out of Southampton. He said: “If Henry wasn’t white, he wouldn’t have been handcuffed. Henry could be your son.”
Nick Tenconi, the leader of the UK Independence party, led a prayer at the demonstration for Nowak as members of the crowd chanted: “Henry, Henry.” Tenconi said: “The arresting officers believed persecuting him [Nowak] was more important than saving him because he was white.” He added: “I am here to fight for an end to woke policing.”
Starmer said he found the bodycam footage of Nowak’s last moments “harrowing”, saying: “There are clearly serious questions that need to be addressed, not least how accusations of racism inform the decision-making in this case.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the watchdog for police forces in England and Wales, is looking into the case, with Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, telling the Commons that she expected to see its report within three months.
Starmer said the IOPC must examine whether racial sensitivities played a part in the case, saying: “It is impossible to watch that footage and not appreciate that those questions absolutely have to be answered.”
In a joint statement, Sikh community groups condemned what they called “a moment of madness” by one individual, saying that the wider Sikh community had since faced considerable abuse and hate. Amandeep Singh, from the Sikh charity Basics of Sikhi, said many people in the community had faced abuse: “At least 15 people have been accosted on the streets by collectives of white individuals surrounding Sikhs and asking, ‘Have you got a kirpan [the Sikh ceremonial dagger]?’, trying to stir up racial tensions.”
Yesterday Andy Burnham called for a potential change in police policy, while also warning against attempts to inflame tensions.
“There needs to be firstly a proper IOPC investigation, and coming from that, there would appear to me to be serious issues that will maybe need to be reflected in changing in policing practice,” the Greater Manchester mayor told the Guardian as he campaigned in Makerfield.
“But what I would say is I think the words of the family also need to be at the forefront of every politician’s mind in calling for there not to be an attempt to create further division.”
Answering questions in the Commons about the case, Mahmood told MPs it was not “a moment to pit white Britons against non-white Britons”.
She added that one police officer had been misidentified as being involved in the case, having to move out of his home after receiving death threats.
Hampshire Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers in the force, condemned what it called attempts at “mob or vigilante justice”, including the publication of personal details from officers with no link to the case. Also speaking in the Commons, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the Labour MP for Slough, accused Farage and others of trying to “politicise people’s pain”.
The Guardian understands that the IOPC has found no indication of any disciplinary or criminal offence by the officers involved after six months of inquiries.
Hampshire police said that of the four officers involved, three remained on full duties and one had resigned.
In remarks at Digwa’s sentencing on Monday, the trial judge, William Mousley, imposed a term of life imprisonment with a minimum of 21 years.
Yesterday the attorney general’s office said it was considering whether Digwa’s sentence should be reviewed as too lenient.
Speaking outside the court, Nowak’s father, Mark Nowak, condemned what he called the “inhumane and degrading” treatment of his son by police. He added: “We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone.”