London — On Tuesday, a significant number of demonstrators engaged in confrontations with law enforcement in southern England, fueled by outrage over the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak and the police’s response to the incident.
The protest saw participation from right-wing activists, including Tommy Robinson, a well-known anti-immigration figure with a history of criminal convictions.
Nowak, a student at university, was fatally stabbed five times by Vickrum Digwa last December following a dispute in Southampton.
Last week, Digwa was found guilty of murder and received a life imprisonment sentence.
Body-camera footage from police shows officers placing Nowak in handcuffs while he was still alive. In the video, he can be heard informing them that he had been stabbed, but the officers did not believe him and continued to restrain him as he gasped for breath.
During the trial, Digwa contended that he had endured racial harassment which led to the altercation; however, the court concluded that this claim was false.
Nowak’s father described the treatment his son received from the police as inhumane and degrading.
“With his last breaths, he repeatedly told them that he couldn’t breathe and that he had been stabbed,” the grieving father stated. “In fact, Henry pleaded with the officer nine times that he could not breathe.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed that there are significant issues that the police must address.
The tension escalated on Tuesday during the protests, with a faction of demonstrators clashing with riot police, throwing rocks and flares near the location of the incident, and chanting, “I can’t breathe.”
The case has been leveraged by the growing right-wing, anti-immigration political movement in Britain to promote their agenda.
Nigel Farage, a prominent leader of the Reform UK party, cited the incident as proof of “two-tier policing,” a claim often made by far-right groups indicating that ethnic minorities receive preferential treatment over white individuals.
Farage urged for “pure cold rage” in response to the matter and called for an end to what he described as “anti-white prejudice” in the U.K.
In response, U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who oversees law enforcement, dismissed the idea that police enforce differing standards across communities and urged lawmakers not to let this murder incite division within society.
Mahmood acknowledged the public’s horror at the footage of Nowak’s death, emphasizing the government’s commitment to combating knife crime.
She called for restraint as the Independent Office for Police Conduct investigates the actions of the involved officers, warning that “misinformation and inflammatory commentary” online were exacerbating an already dire situation.
She noted that police officers, even those unrelated to the incident, had been subjected to death threats.
Nowak’s father has expressed his desire for his son’s death not to be exploited to foster further division, animosity, or tension within the community.
