A shocking case of police handling of a fatally wounded teenager has ignited widespread public anger and deep political division across the United Kingdom this week, after body-worn camera footage of 18-year-old Henry Nowak’s final moments was released to the public.
The incident dates back to December, when Nowak, a university student who had been out socializing with his football teammates, was stabbed to death in Southampton, a southern English city. His attacker, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh man, falsely told responding officers that Nowak had racially abused him, framing the stabbing as a defensive act and claiming he himself was the real victim.
Released with the permission of Nowak’s grieving family, the bodycam footage captures the dying teenager lying on the ground, handcuffed by police officers who accepted Digwa’s false account at face value. Throughout the terrifying ordeal, Nowak repeatedly gasps that he “cannot breathe” and pleads for help after telling officers he had been stabbed. In the recording, one officer dismisses his urgent pleas, telling the teenager: “Don’t think you have, mate.” Only moments after the interaction, Nowak lost consciousness and later died from his injuries.
On Monday, Digwa was sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in prison at Southampton Crown Court for the murder, which he committed using a 21cm ceremonial blade. In a devastating statement following the sentencing, Nowak’s father Mark described the police treatment of his son as “shocking”, calling it “inhumane and degrading.” He drew a sharp contrast between how his son was treated and how his killer was received by officers: “his murderer, however, was afforded decency. He was believed.”
In response to the public outcry, Hampshire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the UK’s independent police watchdog, for a full investigation. Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged on Tuesday that the footage is “harrowing” and confirmed the independent investigation is “absolutely right”, adding that there are “serious questions for the police to answer.” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood urged the public not to allow the tragedy to “turn communities against one another” and condemned those who “seek personal political profit from tragedy” in an address to parliament.
The case has quickly become a flashpoint for political tension across the UK. Far-right political figures have seized on the incident to stoke division, with firebrand activist Tommy Robinson addressing a rally in Southampton on Tuesday, claiming police systematically treat white British people as “second-rate citizens.” Over 1,000 protesters gathered outside Southampton’s main police station that same evening, chanting slogans accusing police of “two-tier policing” and waving Union Jack and English flags.
Senior opposition figures have also waded into the debate. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch joined calls for reviews of current police diversity training policies, echoing claims of uneven policing while accusing far-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of “deepening divisions” over the case. Farage went further, claiming the UK now operates a “two-tier culture… where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities.” Even American tech billionaire Elon Musk has inserted himself into the controversy, posting on social platform X that he would fund a private prosecution against police over their handling of the case.
In additional legal developments, Digwa appeared back in court on Tuesday alongside his 27-year-old brother Gurpreet Digwa and 52-year-old father Moga Singh, all three facing charges of possession of multiple offensive weapons, including a flick knife, extendable baton, knuckledusters, a machete and swords. The brother and father were granted bail ahead of their next hearing in July. Digwa’s family has issued a public apology to the Nowak family for the murder and for bringing the Sikh community into “disrepute.” Digwa’s mother, 53-year-old Kiran Kaur, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17 for assisting her son after the killing by retrieving the murder weapon and returning it to the family home.