UK Home Secretary Criticizes Police Who Handcuffed Victim After Killer Lied About Racist Attack

British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has described footage of an 18-year-old student being handcuffed by police while he lay dying as “disturbing and tragic” after it emerged that his killer had falsely claimed that he had been the victim of a racist attack.

Henry Nowak, who was white, was stabbed in Southampton, England, in December 2025, and on June 1, Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh, was jailed for life after a trial that heard he had lied to the police when claiming he had been assaulted by Nowak.

Footage from one of the arresting officer’s body-worn cameras, released on June 1, showed Nowak lying on the street ⁠saying, “I’ve been stabbed,” and, “I can’t breathe,” and the officer replies, “I don’t think you have, mate.”

When the police arrived, Digwa said he had an injured eye and that his turban had ⁠been knocked off by Nowak.

Later, Digwa claimed the knife he had used to stab Nowak was one he was entitled to have under an exemption, in UK law, for Sikhs to carry ceremonial daggers, or kirpans.

Nowak’s family called Henry’s treatment by Hampshire Police as “inhumane and degrading” but outside Southampton Crown Court they urged people not to use the incident “to create further division, hatred, or tension.”

Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform Party, said the case was an example of white British people’s rights being trumped by those of ethnic minorities.

“The fear of being called racist was greater than dealing with Henry Nowak’s murder,” Farage said. “We ‌should respond to ⁠this with pure cold rage.”

Mahmood: ‘People Are Rightly Asking Questions’

In the House of Commons on June 2, Mahmood said the murder was “evil” and that Nowak’s family had gone through an “unimaginable” ordeal.

She said the body-worn footage was “a disturbing and tragic thing to see.”

“People are rightly asking questions about how the situation was handled, and they are shocked and disquieted to hear Henry’s words: ‘I can’t breathe,'” Mahmood said.

Nowak’s words echo of the words of George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis in 2020 led to an explosion of Black Lives Matter protests. Police officer Derek Chauvin was later convicted of Floyd’s murder.

Judge William Mousley acknowledged in court on June 1 that the case may have an effect on racial tensions, and a protest in Southampton has been organized online.

In a statement published on June 1, Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France, of Hampshire Police, said, “I am deeply sorry that Henry could not be saved. I am deeply sorry that in the moments he lost consciousness, he had been handcuffed and arrested.”

France said the day after Nowak’s death the force referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, adding, “We are committed to acting on their findings.”

Mahmood said the Independent Office for Police Conduct would be “encouraged” to find the truth and, “if necessary, ensure there are consequences.”

She said the Nowak family deserved answers.

Mahmood said there had been accusations of “two-tier policing” where one community is prioritized over another. She emphasized, “The police in this country have a sacred duty: To police without fear or favor.”

“Let me also be clear about one other thing, a dangerous undercurrent that I have seen in the reaction to this awful crime,” Mahmood said. “Threats against police officers are utterly unacceptable. There can be no justification for intimidation, abuse or attempts to take the law into one’s own hands.”

Responding for the opposition Conservative Party, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said, “We cannot tolerate a situation where false allegations of racism by criminals are believed. We cannot allow the colour of someone’s skin to be a consideration in how the police or other public services treat people, and yet this has happened.”

Eleven Sikh lawmakers in the British Parliament—all of them from the ruling Labour Party—signed a joint statement that was shared on X by one of them, Preet Kaur Gill, in which they offered their support to the Nowak family and urged people not to allow the case to “divide communities or fuel hostility towards innocent people.”

Earlier, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, Donna Jones, said, “The details of the police response raises serious ⁠concerns about police impartiality, fairness and judgement.”

Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, was found guilty of assisting an offender and will be sentenced next month. She had picked up the knife and taken it away before the police arrived.

Reuters contributed to this report.