Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has indicated she is considering a change to knife laws following the murder of Henry Nowak, saying she has not “taken any options off the table” after the victim's father called for a clearer legal definition of a Sikh kirpan.
Henry, an 18-year-old university student, was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton on December 3. At his sentencing hearing at Southampton Crown Court in June, Judge William Mousley KC said the attacker was carrying a small knife hidden from view called a kirpan. Digwa also had a “large dagger in a sheath” measuring 21cm because he was part of an order of Sikhs called the Nihang, who carry a second knife by tradition.
It is generally a crime to carry a knife in public, however, there are exceptions for penknives and blades carried for work. There are also exceptions for blades carried for religious reasons, so Sikhs are allowed to carry the kirpan as part of their faith.
Father's call for legal definition
Mark Nowak, Henry's father, told ITV News: “I fully understand the need to carry a kirpan but surely that should be defined in law, in terms of size and type and whether it should be visible, and so on and so forth. And therefore, anything else should be made illegal.”
Asked about his suggestion, Ms Mahmood said: “I haven't taken any options off the table. I'm also not going in with a fixed mind about what the right clarifications of the law might be.
“It's important to get the right balance between religious expression in this country, which is something that many of us of a faith, including myself, hold very dearly, but do so in a way that is within what we expect of our citizens for the purposes of the criminal law.”
Independent review announced
It comes after Ms Mahmood last month announced an independent review will be opened into the murder of Henry. The Home Secretary confirmed former Tory Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk KC will head the probe, which Henry's family has branded a “significant moment” in their fight for justice.
Henry was stabbed to death on his way home in Southampton last December. Police handcuffed him as he lay dying after his killer, Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed he had been racially abused. Harrowing bodycam footage sparked an outcry when it was released after Digwa was found guilty.
Ms Mahmood added: “The religious exemption has been long understood, but recent practices of much bigger kirpans on display is much different to how most Sikhs have practised this part of their religion, where usually it's a much smaller blade and is discreetly worn.
“What I've undertaken to the Nowak family is that I will look at this issue carefully.”
Dabinderjit Singh, chief executive for political engagement at the Sikh Federation, has previously accused Digwa of having “foolishly continued to argue the murder weapon” was carried for religious reasons “in an effort to save himself”. He said “the origins, design and purpose of the murder weapon are entirely inconsistent with the sacred Sikh kirpan”.
Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years in March, but this was increased to 25 years on Thursday after the Court of Appeal found it was “unduly lenient”.
