Henry Nowak’s last words were a desperate plea as he lay bleeding on a Southampton street — but the police officer who handcuffed him simply replied: “I don’t think you have, mate.”
The 18-year-old university student had been stabbed five times with a 21cm ceremonial sword by Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man who later falsely claimed Nowak had racially abused him. Body-worn camera footage released after Digwa’s sentencing showed Nowak repeatedly telling officers he could not breathe. One officer dismissed his claim. Nowak died an hour later.
“Solicitor General Ellie Reeves referred Vickrum Digwa's 21-year minimum term for murdering Henry Nowak to the Court of Appeal.”
The footage triggered violent protests across Southampton on 2 June, the day after Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years by Judge William Mousley KC at Southampton Crown Court. Now the solicitor general, Ellie Reeves KC, has referred that sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, saying the case “horrified me”.
“It is right that difficult questions need to be answered about the way the police handled Henry’s Nowak’s murder, while my role is to review Digwa’s sentence for his crimes,” Reeves said in a statement on Monday. “No sentence can ever undo the devastation that Henry’s family have suffered, or fill the void left by his loss. But I hope this referral goes some way towards bringing them the justice they deserve.”
Digwa, who claimed he was carrying the blade because of his Sikh faith, was also carrying a much larger knife which he used to kill Nowak. At the scene, he lied to police that Nowak had attacked him and shouted racist abuse. Officers accepted his account and handcuffed the dying student.
The prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said he found the bodycam footage “harrowing” and that there were “clearly serious questions that need to be addressed, not least, how accusations of racism inform the decision-making in this case”.
One officer involved in the arrest has since quit Hampshire Police, while three others continue to serve. Another officer who was not involved was forced into hiding after being wrongly identified. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the force’s response. The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, told MPs she expected to see the watchdog’s report within three months.
Twenty-three people have been charged over the protests that followed the sentencing. The Court of Appeal will now decide whether to increase Digwa’s life sentence.