'Sorry isn't enough': Fury over police response to Henry Nowak murder as Jenrick compares case to George Floyd and hits out at 'two-tier policing'
A row has erupted over the police handling of the murder of first-year-university student Henry Nowak, 18, who was handcuffed after being stabbed
Robert Jenrick has compared the murder of Henry Nowak to George Floyd as he accused the Hampshire Police of "two-tier policing" after the 18-year-old was stabbed by a Sikh man who accused him of being racist.
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The police's handling of the murder of first-year-university student Henry Nowak has come under scrutiny after the teenager was handcuffed after being stabbed multiple times with a 21cm (8in) ceremonial knife in December 2025.
The teenager, a finance student at Southampton University, was on his way home from a night out when he was arrested after his attacker, Vickrum Digwa, told police that he was the victim of a racist attack.
The teenager, who was handcuffed by police at the scene, lost consciousness moments after his arrest and died shortly a short time after.
Speaking to Nick Ferrari at Breakfast Mr Jenrick described the incident as "deeply troubling" and accused officers of "two tier policing".
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police apologised after the 23-year-old killer was found guilty of murder on Thursday. The trial heard Digwa lied to police, falsely claiming the victim had subjected him to racial abuse.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has confirmed an investigation into the police force's response is ongoing.
"The fact the police prioritised arresting him for this supposed, and it turns out false racial slur over saving his life is deeply troubling and I think now needs to be properly assessed," Robert Jenrick told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast,.
"I want the Independent Police Complaints organisation, to assess this, to see the body worn cameras of the police to understand what the officers did or didn't do.
"And look, if they made terrible misjudgments, then just saying sorry, as the acting head of the police in Hampshire did yesterday, isn't enough. Heads should roll for this. It is a national scandal."
Likening Mr Nowak's death to the murder of George Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, he went on: "If you compare it to, say, George Floyd, where you had the Prime Minister taking the knee, there's an astonishing silence on this issue."
"It does raise this broad issue of two tier policing," Mr Jenrick added - a term describing the allegation that police enforce laws more harshly against certain groups or demographics than others.
"Are we living in a country where the colour of your skin dictates, to an extent the way in which you're treated before the law and anti white racism is not taken seriously whilst racism against ethnic minority communities is prioritised?"
Asked by Nick if he believed Britain was that kind of country, Mr Jenrick said: 'I do see mounting evidence of that, yes."
He went on: "Equality before the law is what I've campaigned on for years and I fear that this case suggests that that is not happening and that the police are being trained in such a way that they prioritise the interests of one community over another."
Asked for his views on banning kirpans - a religious 21-cm knife used in the murder of Mr Nowak - he said: "This was a killer who in fact had a whole arsenal of weapons at home and so may well have just been intent on killing this young man, regardless of whether or not he had a religious ceremonial knife.
He added "I don't think there is a role for these knives and swords and daggers, and so on, on the streets of our country."
Pressed on whether they should be banned, he said: "That's my view. Yes, this is obviously something that Zia Yusuf, our Shadow Home Secretary, will need to consider."
The court heard that officers from Hampshire Constabulary had handcuffed Mr Nowak after Digwa told them he had been the victim of a racist attack.
The officers took the action to arrest and handcuff Mr Nowak despite him telling them he had been stabbed.
The court heard that it was only when he collapsed and lost consciousness that they started to provide first aid but he died on the street.
Following the case, temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France has apologised on behalf of the officers but reiterated that they were deceived, and that they would have been unaware of Mr Nowak’s injury.
Mr France said: "This is an absolutely tragic case and my sympathies are absolutely with Henry’s family, his friends and his loved ones.
"I want to apologise, I want to say that I am sorry that Henry couldn’t be saved at that night. I’m sorry that he was handcuffed and arrested in the moments before he lost consciousness.
"It's quite clear that officers didn’t understand what had happened immediately and that is some of the context I would ask people to understand.
"There had been a delay from those who chose eventually to call them. There were lies, lies from Henry’s killer in that 999 phone call, further lies from his killer as officers arrived on scene.
"Despite Henry telling officers he had been stabbed, it took them some minutes to realise what had really happened.
"But within three minutes of that engagement with Henry, they were giving him first aid. They had taken the handcuffs off and they were giving them first aid."