Davies says Henry Nowak case exposes institutional failings as police watchdog investigation continues

A CALL has been made for a Stephen Lawrence-style public inquiry after murdered university student Henry Nowak was handcuffed by police as he lay dying in the street.

Andrew RT Davies, Conservative Senedd member for South Wales Central, said the case raised serious questions about police judgement, institutional culture and the way officers respond when allegations of racism are made at chaotic crime scenes.

Henry, 18, was stabbed five times in Southampton on December 3, 2025, by Vickrum Digwa, 23, who later falsely claimed the teenager had racially abused him and knocked off his turban.

That account was rejected in court. Prosecutors described it as a “wicked lie”, and Digwa was jailed for life at Southampton Crown Court on Monday (June 1), with a minimum term of 21 years.

Body-worn footage released after the case showed officers initially treating Henry as a suspect, handcuffing him and reading him his rights despite his repeated pleas that he had been stabbed and could not breathe.

Hampshire Police has apologised, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the force’s response.

Mr Davies said the case should now be examined through a wider public inquiry, arguing that it exposed cultural and structural failings beyond the actions of individual officers.

He said: “The appalling footage in which Henry Nowak was handcuffed as he bled to death has shocked many people, but attributing all blame to the officers involved would be a mistake.

“Henry Nowak’s treatment was the result of a culture of anti-racism under which white people face discrimination and are treated with suspicion.

“We need a Stephen Lawrence-style inquiry to root out these cultural and structural failings within our institutions.”

The comparison is a highly charged one. The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, published in 1999, found the Metropolitan Police to be institutionally racist following the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993.

Mr Davies is arguing for a similarly far-reaching examination of institutional assumptions, but from a very different perspective — claiming that modern policing culture may now cause officers to give undue weight to allegations of racism even when the facts are unclear.

Henry’s family has also strongly criticised the way he was treated, although they have placed responsibility for his murder firmly on Digwa.

His father, Mark Nowak, said outside court that Henry’s treatment by police was “inhumane and degrading” and called for a full and transparent investigation.

The court heard that Digwa attacked Henry with a 21cm blade which he claimed to carry as part of his Sikh faith. However, he was also carrying a smaller ceremonial kirpan, and the judge said he had brought shame on his family, his community and his religion.

Representatives of the Sikh community have condemned the murder and stressed that Digwa’s actions were entirely contrary to Sikh teaching.

The case has now prompted wider questions about knife crime, religious exemptions in weapons law, police decision-making, and whether officers were too quick to accept Digwa’s false account of events.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described the case as “awful” and “shocking”, while ministers have indicated that the sentence may be reviewed.

For now, the formal scrutiny rests with the IOPC. But Mr Davies’ intervention will intensify pressure for the investigation to examine not only what individual officers did, but why Henry Nowak was treated as a suspect while his killer’s false account was initially believed.