Watch in full as Sir Keir Starmer faced Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (3 June) after violent clashes broke out in Southampton the previous night near where Henry Nowak was stabbed to death.
Violence broke out between police and protesters, with missiles, including chairs, cans and flares, thrown at officers in riot gear.
Eleven officers and one police dog were injured, Hampshire Police said.
Two people have been arrested, with home secretary Shabana Mahmood condemning the violence as “completely unacceptable”.
Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 21 years for murdering the 18-year-old finance student in December 2025.
Police bodycam footage shows that Mr Nowak was handcuffed while he lay dying after Digwa told officers he had racially abused him. Mr Nowak says, “I’ve been stabbed,” to which an officer replies, “Don’t think you have, mate.”
The prime minister said he “felt sick” watching footage of police handcuffing the student as he lay dying. Hampshire Police say an officer involved in the case has resigned.
Wednesday’s PMQs also came after thousands of newly released documents related to Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as Britain’s ambassador to the United States exposed cracks in the prime minister’s government and raised questions over his use of disappearing messages.
Monday’s document dump revealed private messages exchanged between Lord Mandelson and senior ministers in which they admitted their frustrations with the PM’s leadership and the heart of government.
In one WhatsApp exchange between Lord Mandelson and Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary complained every meeting he had was to discuss “who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others”.
Downing Street revealed the limited number of written messages between Sir Keir and Lord Mandelson contained in the files was because the prime minister uses disappearing WhatsApp messages. The use of this function means that Sir Keir’s communications with Lord Mandelson on that platform have not been preserved.
Sir Keir defended his use of the function, telling broadcasters: “All the messages I hold have been passed over.
“I went through the same process as everybody else.
“And many people, not just in politics, use disappearing messages.”
