Starmer demands review of racism claims in Henry Nowak murder case

Police body-worn camera footage has placed Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary under intense scrutiny after showing Henry Nowak, 18, lying injured on the ground, handcuffed, and repeatedly telling officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe. In the footage, one officer is heard replying: “Don’t think you have, mate.”

Nowak, a university finance student from Chafford Hundred, Essex, was attacked on Belmont Road in Portswood, Southampton, on 3 December 2025 as he made his way home from a night out with friends. He was stabbed five times by Vickrum Digwa, 23, and later died at the scene from significant internal bleeding caused by a chest wound.

Digwa told officers at the scene that he was the victim of a racist attack. After his conviction, Sir Keir Starmer said the question of “how accusations of racism informed decision making” must be addressed. The issue now hanging over the case is not only how officers responded to a dying man, but whether the claim of racism altered the way they assessed the encounter in its earliest moments.

Digwa was convicted at Southampton Crown Court on 28 May 2026 of murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years. Hampshire police has apologised for handcuffing a fatally injured man while he was dying, and one officer involved in the case has since resigned while three others remain in service.

The release of the footage has triggered anger well beyond the courtroom. Hundreds gathered outside Southampton Central Police Station on 2 June 2026, chanting and accusing police of racism. The response has sharpened a wider national argument over how frontline officers handle allegations of racism, particularly in fast-moving violent incidents where claims by a suspect may collide with the visible condition of a victim.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council has said it could amend the wording of the Police Anti-Racism Commitment if needed. For police leaders and oversight bodies, the case now poses a hard test: whether Nowak’s treatment was a one-off failure in judgment or evidence of deeper problems in training, supervision and culture.