Eighteen-year-old Henry Nowak was handcuffed on a Southampton street, gasping 'I can't breathe', after being fatally stabbed – while police believed the lies of his killer, who claimed racial abuse. Vickrum Digwa, now jailed for life, used a blade he said was for religious reasons linked to his Sikh faith. But 11 Sikh MPs have issued a stark statement: 'This case was not about Sikhism, and the weapon used was not a kirpan.'
The judge who sentenced Digwa said he carried a knife in a sheath and a second, larger dagger linked to his tradition as a member of the Nihang order of Sikhs. The Sikh Federation condemned the Crown Prosecution Service for not making clear during the trial that the blade was not a religious knife; the CPS said the judge's finding of fact agreed it was a kirpan.
“Bodycam shows handcuffed Nowak saying "I can't breathe" as Sikh MPs reject faith link to murder.”
The killing has reignited the debate about knife laws. Billionaire Elon Musk criticised current UK law. Body-worn footage released last Monday showed Nowak handcuffed after being fatally stabbed, telling police: 'I can't breathe.' Officers had believed Digwa's lies when he accused his victim of racism.
The footage sparked a major row. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said people should respond with 'pure, cold rage'. Kemi Badenoch and Sir Keir Starmer accused him of seeking to politicise the killing against the wishes of the family. US vice-president JD Vance waded in, calling for 'righteous anger' and blaming the murder on immigration.
Violent disorder erupted after protests over the murder in Southampton. Now a Sikh leader has compared the backlash to a massacre in India. Dabinderjit Singh, a senior executive at the Sikh Foundation, said attacks on Sikhs had taken place 'up and down the country' every day since Digwa was sentenced. Speaking at a march in London to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar – where at least 400 people died – Singh said: 'Children, men, women, pensioners, doctors, people going shopping, people walking in the park. One person went to the gym, and he was told, "We're going to hang you by your turban." What if somebody gets killed?' He added: 'If you're a Sikh, then you're a potential victim.'