UK Government Speaks Out Against Violence at Protest Following Teen’s Tragic Stabbing

LONDON – The UK’s home secretary has criticized activists for exploiting a tragic event to incite unrest following an attack on police during a protest concerning the death of a teenager. The young man, who was in handcuffs while dying, had his assailant standing nearby.

During the late hours of Tuesday, in Southampton on England’s south coast, police officers faced a barrage of objects including chairs, cans, rocks, and flares from a crowd of hundreds who gathered to protest the December killing of Henry Nowak.

The incident has ignited discussions about law enforcement practices and knife-related violence, with some far-right figures and politicians alleging that the justice system harbors a bias against white individuals.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned the violence that erupted Tuesday night, labeling it as “entirely unacceptable.”

“The Nowak family issued a heartfelt plea urging us not to let Henry’s death become a tool for further division, animosity, or conflict,” she stated. “There is no excuse for exploiting this tragedy to incite violence and chaos. Those involved should be prepared to face the full consequences of the law.”

Nowak’s killer, Vickrum Digwa, who is Sikh, falsely claimed he was the victim of a racist assault by 18-year-old Nowak, who was white. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded man as a suspect, before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.

Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder and sentenced Monday to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years. The judge said he didn’t believe Nowak had said anything racist to his attacker.

After the sentencing, police released video showing officers dismissing Nowak when he told them he had been stabbed and repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was sickened by the video and there are questions to be answered about how “accusations of racism informed the decision-making in this case.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigates allegations of police wrongdoing, is probing the actions of the officers from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. The National Police Chiefs’ Council said it will review its anti-racism guidance in the wake of the killing.

After the sentencing hearing, the victim’s father, Mark Nowak, said the case was not about racism or religion, and that he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets and not to be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”

But Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, said on Tuesday that it was an example of so-called two-tier policing — a popular far-right talking point that suggests ethnic minorities are better treated than white people.

Farage urged people to respond to the incident with “pure cold rage,” and said “white lives matter just as much as Black lives.” X owner Elon Musk and British far-right activist Tommy Robinson have also expressed outrage at the crime.

Some politicians have called for Sikhs to be banned from carrying ceremonial knives, known as kirpans. The judge said Digwa had a small kirpan but also had an 8-inch (21-centimeter) sheathed Sikh dagger that was used as the weapon to kill Nowak.