Tensions flare in UK after Henry Nowak murder as far-right stokes violence
Taj Ali
Tensions are rising in Southampton, England, after Vikrum Digwa was sentenced for murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak. Far-right groups have exploited the case to incite violence against the Sikh community, leading to protests, racist slogans, and Nazi salutes outside a police station. The victim's father has pleaded with the public not to use his son's death to create division or hatred.
Tensions are rising in Southampton, England, after Vikrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh, was sentenced to prison for murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak. The case has not only caused grief but is being exploited by far-right groups to incite violence and hatred against the Sikh community.
On June 2, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Southampton Central Police Station before marching to the killer's home in a racially diverse area. Several far-right figures, including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (known as Tommy Robinson), UKIP leader Nick Tenconi, and actor Laurence Fox, addressed the crowd. Violence broke out, with objects thrown at police and multiple vehicles damaged. Some people made Nazi salutes and chanted “white power.”
The victim’s father, Mark Nowak, had appealed outside the court immediately after sentencing. “This is not a case about the Sikh faith. This is not a case about racism. This is a case about murder,” Nowak said. He warned against using his son’s death to create “division, hatred or further tension.”
According to court testimony, on December 3, Henry Nowak was out with friends celebrating the end of his first semester at the University of Southampton. That night, Digwa, then 22, stabbed Nowak five times and lied to the police, claiming the teenager had racially insulted him. Police treated Nowak as a suspect rather than a victim, accepting Digwa's account. Handcuffed on the ground, Nowak repeatedly told officers he had been stabbed and was struggling to breathe, but body-worn camera footage showed his pleas were ignored. The victim’s father expressed anger at police failings.
Jas Singh, senior adviser to the Sikh Federation UK, criticized politicians from Reform UK and Restore Britain for focusing on Digwa’s religion and the Sikh ceremonial kirpan sword, which he said fueled misunderstandings about Sikhism. The court confirmed the murder weapon was not a kirpan but a separate Persian-style dagger Digwa carried. A judge said Digwa had brought “shame” on his religion and stirred racial tension.
As a result, fear is spreading within the UK Sikh community, many of whom can be identified by religious symbols such as turbans. Singh said he has received calls asking: “Is it safe to go out?” and “Should we go to the gurdwara (temple)?” Attendance at temples has dropped. Several hate incidents have been reported, including a priest verbally abused, a man attacked in a supermarket, and a health care worker who was refused service by an elderly patient because he was a bearded Sikh wearing a turban.
Jayanti Shah, an anti-racism activist who has lived in Southampton since 1968, said the city’s atmosphere has deteriorated since the 2024 race riots. Ali Haydor, a local taxi driver, noted that this protest was different from previous ones, more confrontational, forcing many to change daily routines, such as driving children to school instead of walking or avoiding public transport.
The Nowak case has revived debate over so-called “two-tier policing.” Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, argued: “We are living in a two-tier Britain where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of minority ethnic groups.” He encouraged the public to respond with “pure, cold anger.” On June 4, the U.S. State Department also posted on social media that “ideological thinking and two-tier policing are clear symptoms of civilizational decline.”
However, Shabna Begum, head of the Runnymede Trust race equality think tank, warned that politically exploiting murders is not new, “but the current climate of incitement makes it extremely dangerous.” Authorities and political leaders rushed to promise reviews of anti-racism guidelines in police forces with no evidence that the guidelines had skewed police conduct. Andrew George, chairman of the National Black Police Association, stressed: “Building trust with communities is not a distraction from law enforcement; it is the foundation of effective policing.”
Jas Singh also accused the government of abandoning the Sikh community and failing to ensure their safety. “We are protecting our gurdwaras and our elderly as best we can,” he said, citing a series of recent attacks on Sikhs across England, from Kent to Birmingham.
