Six more people have been charged after violent protests in Southampton triggered by bodycam footage showing 18-year-old Henry Nowak handcuffed as he lay dying — bringing the total number of those charged to 11, as Downing Street hit back at US vice-president JD Vance for blaming the murder on “the mass invasion of migrants”.
The unrest on Tuesday followed the release of footage that showed police officers ignoring Nowak’s repeated pleas that he had been stabbed after his killer, Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed to be the victim of a racist attack. One officer was heard replying: “I don’t think so mate.”
“Six more charged after Henry Nowak protests; No 10 hits back at JD Vance for blaming murder on migration”
Digwa, a British-born Sikh, was jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years after using a 21cm (8in) blade he said he carried as part of his faith to kill Nowak on 3 December. The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed Digwa was born British.
In a post on X, Vance said Nowak would still be alive “if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants”. He called the killing “as tragic as it is enraging” and said the “only response” was “righteous anger”.
A Downing Street spokesman responded: “In recent days we have seen people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.” The spokesman added that Nowak’s family had said they “do not want his death to be used to create further division”. “Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible of circumstances,” the statement said.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met Nowak’s father Mark Nowak, mother Lucy Ross and stepmother Katie Woodcock at Downing Street. He said he was “profoundly humbled” and determined to “prevent other families from suffering such a devastating loss”. Starmer said there were “difficult questions that need to be answered about the way the police handled Henry’s murder”.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is already investigating the actions of Hampshire Constabulary officers, while an inquest jury is due to consider next year whether any police act or omission caused or contributed to Nowak’s death. The coroner said on Thursday he hoped the date could be brought forward.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also met the family and called for an “independent rapid review” into the circumstances of Nowak’s death. In a letter to Starmer, she wrote that questions about what followed “concern not only what happened to Henry but overall public confidence in policing”.
Badenoch also called for a review of religious practices or exemptions “that permit the carrying of dangerous weapons in public”. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told GB News he will meet with the family.