NYT: Protests in UK Over Henry Nowak Murder Case Turn Violent, as Leaders Urge Calm

Protests in Southampton turned violent after far-right commentators made claims that the police’s handling of a murder case in Britain showed the authorities were biased against white people
Photo: Reuters

The police and lawmakers in Britain urged calm after a night of protest that devolved into violence in the city of Southampton, in southern England, on the heels of a shocking murder case.

After footage was released on Monday evening of officers handcuffing a stabbing victim, Henry Nowak, while his attacker looked on last December, right-wing commentators and politicians claimed that the British police were biased against white people.

Mr. Nowak, 18, was attacked by Vickrum Digwa, 23, after the two men met in a chance encounter on the street in Southampton. Mr. Digwa, who is Sikh, stabbed Mr. Nowak and then lied to the police, saying that he had been the victim of a racist attack, according to evidence presented at Mr. Digwa’s trial.

Police officers arrested and handcuffed Mr. Nowak for about a minute before they realized that he was severely wounded and began administering first aid, a judge said in court on Monday as he sentenced Mr. Digwa to life in prison for murder.

Mr. Nowak’s father, Mark Nowak, said outside the court on Monday that his son had not “died with dignity” and criticized the police for how they had treated him. But he added that the family did “not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension.”

Despite that, the case has been seized upon by far-right activists online and by Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing populist Reform U.K. party.

After Tommy Robinson, a far-right agitator, posted calls online for people to gather in Southampton on Tuesday night, hundreds of people congregated outside the main police station there.

Mr. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, told the crowds, “This is about race, he was murdered because he was white.” The authorities have not alleged that Mr. Nowak’s killing was racially motivated.

Demonstrators tried to enter the street where the convicted killer’s family lives and attacked officers who had blocked the road, as well as elsewhere in the city. Footage shows protesters throwing rocks, flares and garbage cans at the police, and punching and kicking officers’ riot shields.

Eleven police officers were wounded in the violence, according to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, which oversees policing in Southampton.

In a video posted on Reform’s social media sites on Tuesday morning, Mr. Farage claimed that the British police had “anti-white prejudice” and encouraged his followers to “respond with pure cold rage.” Lawmakers across the political spectrum condemned his statements as divisive.

In Parliament on Wednesday, Mr. Starmer called the attacks on the police in Southampton “disgraceful” and cautioned that it was “a time for serious work, not rage.”

The prime minister said that there were “serious questions to answer, including how accusations of racism informed police thinking” in officers’ initial response at the scene of the stabbing.

“But no matter the pain we feel, there is no justification of more violence and disorder,” he said.

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