Henry Nowak latest: Protesters accused of ‘hijacking’ tragedy after hurling bottles at police in Southampton violent clashes

Henry Nowak deserved better. In December, the 18-year-old student was stabbed multiple times while on his way home from a night out in Southampton.

As he lay bleeding on the pavement, he pleaded “I can’t breathe” repeatedly to the attending police officers, who, instead of administering aid, put him in handcuffs and arrested him. The last thing he heard before he died was an officer reading him his rights.

His assailant had made false claims that Nowak had racially abused him, punched him and knocked off his turban.

Read the full analysis from Festus Akinbusoye here:

Our political editor David Maddox says:

Nigel Farage’s silence on the protests in Southampton over the Henry Nowak murder and the police handling of it.

The Reform UK leader does everything he can not to be associated with the far right leader Tommy Robinson who was behind those violent protests.

But the two hold common cause in a way in politicising this tragedy after Farage’s call for “rage” in respinse to what happened.

And it has certainly ratcheted up what was already a tense situation. The prime minister Keir Starmer must be concerned that we could see riots again as we did after the Southport murders.

If you look at the measured and thoughtful response from Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, she clearly is worried about that too.

It will though for the government and political establishment to consider whether the anti-racism measures in police have gone too far.

A simple “we don’t have two tier justice” will not wash with the increasingly angry people on the streets.

More importantly, this is set to become a major issue in the Makerfield by-election where Andy Burnham is hoping to win for Labour on route to becoming PM.

He needs to articulate answers toa constituency that is 97 per cent white working class and already feels overlooked.

A government minister was unable to say there is “no two-tier policing” in Britain in the wake the Henry Nowak murder.

Policing minister Sarah Jones said instead that in principle “everyone is equal under the law”, but admitted there are “examples of people making the wrong call in different ways”.

Asked if there is two-tier policing in the UK, she told BBC Radio 4: “I would say that the principles are important, that everyone is equal under the law.

“I would say that there are 100,000 999 calls a day, and that in the majority of cases, the police are doing the right thing, making the right decisions in the right way. But I would also say that wherever there are mistakes – and this is I think a case where the country is looking to us to make sure we learn the lessons and put anything wrong right – that we continue to strive to do that.

“But the principles of what our policing by consent foundations are based on, equality under the law, that is the basis of our entire society.”

Pushed on whether there are examples o two-tier policing she said: “I think we see examples of people making the wrong call in different ways. In the main, that is not what we see. I think to push a certain sort of agenda in this case is not helpful.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said “pernicious identity politics” had seen the country “going backwards”.

In a Daily Mail article, she said there was a need to “sweep out a lot of the historic, incoherent nonsense that has been brought in under the guise of anti-racism”.

She said: “I have said that we are going to root out all identity politics from state institutions – from removing diversity requirements from defence procurement to scrapping preferential sentencing for minorities.

“But it can’t end there. No other political party has a plan for integration and assimilation.”

She added she was “disturbed” by Nigel Farage’s video response, and said that his words were part of a “toxic tribal politics that divides our country”.

The prime minister and home secretary will meet the family of Henry Nowak “when it is right for them”, a minister has said.

Sir Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood are yet to visit Southampton, amid questions around the police response to the murder of the 18-year-old student.

Asked why the prime minister was yet to visit the city, policing minister Sarah Jones told LBC: “I would love to meet the family.

“The home secretary would, the prime minister would….When it is right for them to want to speak to us. We all want to speak to them, of course we do.”

She added: “Of course we will do the right thing in terms of what action needs to be taken and what interaction – that we will be led by the family, of course, on when we meet with them.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) announced it would review anti-racism guidance – called the Race Action Plan which advises police to treat ethnic minorities differently to get them better outcomes – that some have blamed for the actions of the officers who arrested Mr Nowak.

NPCC chairman Gavin Stephens said: “We are listening to legitimate concerns about how some of these commitments are worded or phrased, and where needed we can and will make changes, but this should not detract from the intent, which is to improve the quality of policing.”

Policing minister Sarah Jones has criticised Nigel Farage’s “unhelpful” statement in the wake of Henry Novak’s murder.

The Reform UK leader made a statement on Tuesday morning, where he called for “pure cold rage” and accused the police of a “two-tier culture”.

Ms Jones said Mr Farage’s comments were “so unhelpful”, telling BBC Breakfast: “When you look at that footage…you feel a kind of a visceral response.

“An anger that is there – and that is right to feel.

“But to try and take those emotional responses that we’re all having and stir it into a call to action that is going to divide us even further, is so irresponsible.”

Two people were arrested on Tuesday after protesters threw missiles at police officers as clashes turned violent in Southampton.

A government minister has rejected Nigel Farage’s claims that white people are “treated differently” by police.

The Reform UK leader made a statement on Tuesday morning, where likened Henry Nowak’s treatment to the killing of George Floyd and said it was evidence of a “two-tier culture”.

Asked if she agreed with this, policing minister Sarah Jones said: “I don’t think the evidence at the moment would suggest that if you look at the facts and figures about policing.”

On Tuesday, Downing Street also rejected the notion of “two-tier policing” in the wake of the murder.

Demonstrators last night clashed with riot police near Henry Nowak’s home, pelting them with burning bins, as well as bottles, stones and flares.

It comes despite calls from Mr Nowak’s family for his death not to be used to create division.

In a statement after his killer Vickrum Digwa was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years on Monday, they said they wanted to use Henry’s heartbreaking story to make change for the better.

“We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone,” his father, Mark Nowak, said in a statement outside Southampton Crown Court.

“That is why we are calling on the Government to treat knife crime as the national emergency it is.

He continued: “This doesn’t mean knee-jerk reactions. This doesn’t mean going to extremes. It just means a common-sense approach to law and order.

“As the KC for the Prosecution summed up in Court: This is not a case about Sikhism. This is not a case about racism. This is a case about murder.”