Henry Nowak’s family say UK needs to rebuild trust in police after son’s murder
Henry Nowak’s family called on politicians to rebuild trust in the police, stressing that they “do not want anger to tear communities apart” after their son’s murder.
At a meeting with Kemi Badenoch on Thursday, the 18-year-old’s mother, father and stepmother agreed the UK needed to “bring back common sense” in how policing and equality are handled under the law.
The student was ignored by police officers when he said he had been stabbed and died while being arrested and handcuffed after his killer, Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed he was the victim of a racist attack.
The Conservative leader said the family of Mr Nowak, who will meet Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street this afternoon, had called for “work across political parties and religions to rebuild trust in the police” after the murder.
Ms Badenoch wrote to
“I promised my family that we would work to ensure Henry had a positive legacy from this tragedy. That is my focus right now.”
She also wrote: “Henry’s family does not want anger to tear communities apart. They are a family with friends across faith and race, and so does Henry. His family wants his memory to help bring our community together.”
It comes after two men were arrested following violent protests that broke out near where the 18-year-old was killed amid outcry over his treatment by police.
Sir Keir said “there are questions that need to be answered” about the police response to the murder, adding that the Independent Office for Police Conduct investigating the incident should be given space to “continue their work”.
Reformist UK leader Nigel Farage has been condemned for his response to the killing after urging the public to respond with “pure, cold anger”.
Sir Keir said her actions were “inexcusable” and accused her of “merely pretending” to sympathize with the teenager’s family, who specifically called for their son’s death not to be used to sow division.
The Prime Minister also accused Elon Musk of trying to “whip up division” in the UK over the murder, after the tech billionaire publicly commented on the incident several times.
“We also need to reveal who we are as a country, because again Musk has been interfering in our politics for the last few days, trying to incite division, that’s not who we are in Britain,” he said.
“In Britain we are reasonable and tolerant people. When faced with a horrific case like Henry’s, we react calmly, just as Henry Nowak and his family did.”
Mr. Musk has shared numerous posts about the murder, including a video in which far-right activist Tommy Robinson claims Nowak was “killed by racist police policies targeting white people.”
He also wrote “it’s either this or death” in response to Rupert Lowe’s announcement that the Restore UK government would execute the student’s killer “with the approval of the British people”.
