Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called for calm after the far right sought to exploit the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak to stoke racial tensions. Speaking in a TV interview at Downing Street, Starmer condemned Reform UK leader Nigel Farage for urging the public to respond with 'pure, cold rage'. He said Farage was 'completely wrong' to use the case to create division, particularly as Nowak's family had explicitly asked that the incident not be used to target particular communities.
Nowak, a university student, was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, 23, who used a Sikh ceremonial dagger in Southampton in December 2025. Digwa falsely claimed he had been racially abused by Nowak. Body-camera footage released by Hampshire police showed Nowak being handcuffed despite repeatedly telling officers he had been stabbed. At one point an officer told him: 'I don't think you have, mate.' The footage has been widely shared by hard-right commentators, including Elon Musk, who argued it showed 'two-tier' policing.
On Tuesday evening, hundreds of people gathered outside Southampton police station after far-right activist Tommy Robinson called for a 'Justice for Henry Nowak' protest. Some chanted 'Racist police, off our streets' and held signs including 'Henry's blood is on your hands'. Robinson accused Hampshire police of institutional racism and called for Digwa's family to be forced out of Southampton. Nick Tenconi, leader of the UK Independence Party, led a prayer at the demonstration, saying the officers 'believed persecuting him was more important than saving him because he was white'.
Starmer described the body-cam footage as 'harrowing' and said there were '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) is investigating, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the Commons she expected its report within three months. Starmer said the IOPC must examine whether racial sensitivities played a part.
Sikh groups condemned the murder as 'a moment of madness' by one individual, noting that the wider Sikh community had since faced considerable abuse. Amandeep Singh from the Sikh charity Basics of Sikhi said at least 15 people had been accosted on the streets by groups of white individuals asking about the kirpan, the Sikh ceremonial dagger, in an attempt to stir racial tensions.
