The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has warned of a “dangerous undercurrent” in the wake of the murder of Henry Nowak, who was falsely accused of racism by a Sikh man who had fatally stabbed him with a ceremonial dagger.
Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced on Monday to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years for the December 2025 murder of 18-year-old Nowak. Digwa falsely claimed he had been racially abused and attacked by Nowak and told police that the teenager knocked his turban off and caused an eye injury.
Hampshire police released footage from body-worn cameras showing 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.”
Speaking in the Commons, Mahmood said one officer had already been misidentified and had had to move out of his home to protect himself and his family after receiving death threats. “Misinformation and inflammatory commentary is making a dreadful situation even worse. We must all, together, condemn it,” she said.
Hampshire Police Federation echoed the sentiment, condemning “in the strongest possible terms the calls for mob or vigilante justice against officers”. Neil Basu, a former assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan police, described comments by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as “inflammatory, extremist and divisive”.
In a statement outside court, Nowak’s father, Mark Nowak, said: “We want to use Henry’s heartbreaking story to make change for the better. We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension.” The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the contact officers had with Nowak before his death.
