Henry Nowak’s family calls for changes to knife laws in emotional documentary

Henry Nowak’s family have called for changes to knife laws in an emotional documentary about the university student’s murder.

The 18-year-old, who was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton on December 3 last year, was handcuffed by police as he lay dying when his attacker falsely accused him of racial abuse.

The killer was originally jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years, but this was increased to 25 years on Thursday after the Court of Appeal found it was “unduly lenient”.

Henry Nowak (Family Handout/PA)

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Judge William Mousley KC told Digwa’s sentencing hearing in June that on the night of the murder, the killer had a small knife hidden from view called a kirpan, which is a strict requirement for Sikhs to have at all times and can be carried in public for religious reasons.

Digwa also had a “large dagger in a sheath” which was 21cm long, thanks to being part of an order of Sikhs called the Nihang, who have a tradition of having a second knife.

In an ITV Tonight documentary which aired on Thursday night, Dear Henry: Our Fight For Justice, Mr Nowak’s family urged the Government to clarify the definition of a kirpan which can be legally carried.

His father, Mark Nowak, said: “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.”

He added: “I’m very clear it shouldn’t infringe on religious freedoms. I’m very much for that.

“But I don’t accept that it’s difficult to legislate because the current ambiguity is probably being dealt with on the streets of Britain right now, with police officers not knowing when to act and when not to act.”

In a statement to ITV, the Home Office said: “We are continuing discussions with Sikh stakeholders and the police about the law on carrying knives in public, and the religious reasons defence.”

The family also criticised their son’s “inexcusable” treatment by police and aired concerns that decisions were made to protect police reputation.

Mr Nowak’s mother, Lucy Ross, told ITV: “Henry told the police nine times that he can’t breathe, he can’t breathe and he’s been stabbed.

“How can you handcuff somebody that’s on the floor but you don’t handcuff the killer? Why was Henry so dismissed and treated so badly? I will never understand it.”

Of the interaction between his son and officers that night, Mark Nowak said: “It’s inexcusable.”

Mr Nowak’s stepmother, Katie Nowak, said they only watched the video which captures the teenager’s final exchange on the first day of Digwa’s trial.

Asked why she thinks they were not shown it before then, she said: “We’ve always felt that there was a slight hope that Vickrum may have pleaded guilty, and if he’d have pleaded guilty the truth may never have come out.

“I do feel that we have been failed multiple times.

“I fear that we may have been manipulated in our darkest hours, and I fear that some decisions were made to try and protect the police and their reputation rather than help us as a family.”

Vickrum Digwa (Hampshire Police/PA)

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In a statement shared in the documentary, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “We are incredibly sorry that in Henry’s final moments, when he needed us most, we failed him.

“Henry’s family have rightly raised serious concerns about the police response and their treatment throughout the investigation.”

The force added that it is co-operating fully with reviews and investigations.

The Crown Prosecution Service said: “We were unable to share sensitive evidence with Henry’s family until the case was trial-ready; to avoid any risk of prejudicing proceedings. We discussed this with the family.”

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

Earlier on Thursday, Digwa’s sentence was increased at the Court of Appeal.

Reacting to the court’s decision, Mr Nowak’s family said they face a “life sentence of grief” and that their “fight for justice is far from over”.

Protesters including leaders of Ukip and Britain First, the Portsmouth branch of the National Rebirth Party and others called to attend on social media, protested in Southampton in the weeks after Mr Nowak’s death.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage 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”.

Ms Ross said she thought that some people had tried to use her son’s death to advance wider political arguments, telling ITV she was “not interested in your political game”.