Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he “felt sick” watching body camera footage of 17-year-old Henry Nowak being handcuffed by police as he lay dying. Speaking in a pooled TV interview, Starmer described the footage as “harrowing” and said it raised “serious questions” about how accusations of racism informed police decision-making in the case.
Starmer also condemned Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, for calling on people to respond to Nowak’s murder with “pure cold rage”. The Prime Minister said that was “the wrong reaction”, noting that Nowak’s family had asked for the situation not to be “whipped up”. “Nigel Farage is completely wrong to use this to try and create division,” Starmer added.
When asked whether he agreed with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s call for a Macpherson-style inquiry into police anti-racist culture, Starmer said he was “not ruling that out” but stressed that the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) should first complete its investigation into how officers handled the case.
Separately, Downing Street confirmed that Starmer’s WhatsApp messages are set to automatically delete from his smartphone, raising questions about the completeness of recently released government documents. Starmer insisted he had complied with a humble address and handed over all messages he held.
