Henry Nowak's family say he 'would have hated' riots that followed his death

Henry Nowak’s family have accused some politicians of playing a “game” with their son’s murder and stated that he “would have hated” the riots that followed his death.

Nowak was stabbed by Vickrum Digwa last year before being handcuffed by police as he lay dying when his attacker falsely accused him of racial abuse.

In the weeks after Mr Nowak’s death, protesters including leaders of Ukip and Britain First, the Portsmouth branch of the National Rebirth Party and others called to attend, took to the streets in Southampton.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also delivered an emergency address calling for the public to respond with “pure cold rage” and demanding an end to what he described as “two-tier policing”.

Speaking in an interview for an ITV Tonight documentary, Dear Henry: Our Fight For Justice, Nowak’s family said they had “worked hard” to keep politics out of his story.

Nowak’s mother, Lucy Ross, said she felt some people had tried to use her son’s death to advance wider political arguments.

“I suppose that’s the game they play, and I can’t do anything about that. But when they think it all links together – no, it doesn’t,” she said. Olivia’s lost her brother, and I’ve lost my son. I’m not interested in your political game.

“I want to know why Henry was on the floor, and he got treated the way he did, but that family got treated (in) a different way. What is that?”

Mark Nowak told ITV his son “was not a divisive person” and the political response to his murder “didn’t sit with Henry’s values or our values”.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed its investigation into potential failures in the police response to Nowak’s stabbing is expected to conclude early next year.

A letter sent to the family by the watchdog in April said after “careful consideration of the available evidence” no officers “would be subject to conduct or criminal investigation”.

It read: “This was because there were no concerns identified in relation to officer actions and decisions that would be so serious as to justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings, should they be proven or admitted.”

The letter added the decision not to investigate attending officers would be “kept under review throughout the life cycle of the case”.

The IOPC announced in July that two officers were under investigation for potential gross misconduct.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has also commissioned an independent review of the case, including the IOPC’s involvement, led by the former lord chancellor Alex Chalk, to examine whether there were “any missed opportunities to intervene”.

Speaking to ITV, she said she had been “very moved by the dignity of the family in how they’ve handled this awful situation which none of us can ever imagine being in and I’m very clear that they deserve answers and I have committed to them that it’s my job to make sure that they get the answers”.

Elsewhere, Andy Burnham said he wanted to see the results of a review into Nowak’s death before weighing in on how the teenager’s family had been subsequently treated.

The Prime Minister was asked for his response to the Nowak family as he attended a gathering of Commonwealth leaders in Antigua.

Mr Burnham told reporters: “I know the chief constable has apologised, and rightly so, because everybody will think back to when they first saw the distressing scenes in the video, and have nothing but the utmost sympathy for Henry’s family. So everybody understands how hard it is for them.

“The apology has come from the chief constable. The Home Secretary has ordered a review of the handling of this case, and that is right too.

“So, before we go further, I think we need to see the results of that review.”

Dear Henry: Our Fight For Justice will air on Thursday at 9pm on ITV, ITVX and the ITV News YouTube channel.