Sudanese man arrested after attempted beheading, sparking UK migration debate
Warning: Graphic content
London: Police have arrested a Sudanese suspect following a brutal knife attack at a Belfast hospital that left a man fighting for his life with injuries that resembled a decapitation attempt, setting off a political storm over crime and immigration.
A graphic online video showed the attacker kneeling over the victim and screaming while brandishing a knife above his head; Spectators rushed to help, using makeshift weapons against the attacker.
As outrage spread online following the attack on Monday night, conservative political leaders called on police to reveal the suspect’s ethnicity and details of the victim’s injuries, described as a man in his 40s.
Northern Ireland police initially identified the suspect as Somali but later said he was Sudanese and was detained on suspicion of attempted murder.
The political turmoil followed a public debate about the “two-tiered policing” of the death of a young white man named Henry Nowak at the hands of a Sikh attacker in Southampton last December; The footage showed police initially treating the victim as a suspect.
Hours after the Belfast attack, populist political leader Nigel Farage called on police to name the attacker.
Farage, chairman of the Reform UK political party, said: “What happened in Belfast last night is terrible.” “Authorities must immediately disclose the identity and situation of the attacker. The public has the right to know the truth.”
Rival right-wing politician Rupert Lowe said he had watched footage of the attack and wanted police to guarantee “full transparency”, including the suspect’s immigration status.
Lowe, the MP who left Reform to head his own party Restore, linked the Belfast attack with the Southampton case and said the solution was to deport immigrants and bring back the death penalty.
“I’m fed up. The British people are fed up too,” Lowe said on X.
“We don’t have to live like this, there is another way: Death penalty, mass deportation, end to mass immigration.”
These remarks escalated the political debate over the attack and raised concerns about crime as mainstream media outlets covered the incident and the sensational video spread online.
Briefing on crime rates from the House of Commons Library It has been found that 53,000 crimes involving knives and similar sharp objects have been committed in England and Wales by March 2025. The report stated that this number decreased by 1.2 percent compared to the previous year.
Latest figures from the Police Service of Northern Ireland It found that the number of violent crime cases through March was 533 in March, compared to 530 last year. Case numbers decreased from 668 in 2022, 632 in 2023 and 608 in 2024.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had no tolerance for the “disgusting” scenes in Belfast.
“The horrific attack in Belfast last night is sickening,” he said.
Conservative MP and shadow home secretary Chris Philp linked the case to the immigration debate and called for information about the suspect to be released.
“Last night’s brutal beheading attempt in Belfast is appalling. The government must ensure full details of the suspect’s nationality and immigration status are disclosed. Full transparency is required,” he said.
“If this man turns out to be an illegal immigrant, it will provide further evidence that the government’s lack of border control is endangering the public.”
Police Service of Northern Ireland deputy chief Ryan Henderson described the attack as “brutal” and said police were trying to determine the motive for the attack.
“I want to reassure the local community that we are treating this attack extremely seriously.”
On June 2, hundreds of people rioted in Southampton after video evidence was released in the Nowak case showing police denying the young man’s account that he had been stabbed and handcuffing him as a suspect.
Police initially told Nowak, 18, that he would be arrested on assault charges. He died from his injuries shortly after the stabbing on December 3 last year.
His killer, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, was found guilty of committing murder using a 21cm knife he carried as part of his Sikh faith. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years.
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David Crowe is the European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
