Police officer received death threats over Nowak murder case as Mahmood condemns ‘dangerous’ commentary – UK politics live

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Mahmood condemns ‘dangerous’ commentary, saying one officer wrongly linked to Nowak case has faced death threats

Mahmood said that there was a “dangerous undercurrent” in the commentary on this case, and she said that a police office had had to relocate for his own protection because he had been wrongly identified as the officer in this case.

She said:

Let me also be clear about one other thing, a dangerous undercurrent that I have seen in the reaction to this awful crime.

Threats against police officers are utterly unacceptable. There can be no justification for intimidation, abuse or attempts to take the law into one’s own hands.

A police officer unrelated to this case has been misidentified online and subjected to death threats. He has been forced to relocate to protect himself and his family.

Misinformation and inflammatory commentary is making a dreadful situation even worse.

We must all together condemn it, and we must also allow the facts to be established to the appropriate investigations and the courts, and we must do so calmly and responsibly.

Key events

There are 11 Sikh MPs in parliament, all Labour. They have put out a joint statement today expressing support for the family of Henry Nowak and saying people should not allow his murder to “divide communities or fuel hostility towards innocent people”. The letter has been been organised by Jas Athwal, chair of the all-party parliamentary group for British Sikhs. He says:

Henry Nowak was brutally murdered in a senseless act of violence by Vickrum Digwa.

The Sikh community stands with Henry’s family and friends as they come to terms with his loss.

We share the grief, shock and anger at his murder and stand with his family in the pursuit of truth and justice.

We urge people to not allow the actions of this one murderer to divide communities and fuel hostility towards innocent people.

Letter Photograph: Jas Athwal

Burnham condemns ‘profiteering’ by water companies

Andy Burnham criticised “profiteering” by water companies, citing the industry as a classic example of where privatisation has failed consumers.

While campaigning in the Makerfield byelection today, Burnham said United Utilities, which is based in the north-west, should cancel the final dividend due to be paid to shareholders in August and redistribute the money to lower costs for consumers instead, after the company’s profits surged following an increase in bills.

He said:

There is simply no justification for profiteering on this scale when people are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

This confirms why people feel the system is rigged against them. It makes the case for essential public services coming back under public control.

He said water was a “classic case” where privatisation had failed.

Forty years of neoliberalism in Britain has left us with essential services, which the public have no choice but to use, which work to serve private vested interests over the public interest.

The water industry is a classic case of one where the shareholders always win and the bill payers always lose.

People are right to be angry that they are being asked to pay for bill hikes they cannot afford, only for their hard-earned cash to pour into the pockets of shareholders.

He said excess profits in the sector were “unjustifiable” and added: “Water companies should put these surging profits into lowering bills, improving services and protecting communities.”

As the Press Association reports, Burnham also called on the government to make it mandatory for housing developers to implement the highest standards for flood resilience at project and household level in areas at risk of flooding. Residents in the Makerfield constituency faced flooding in 2015 and 2025, with some still not able to return to their homes, Burnham said.

Andy Burnham visiting Platt Bridge Community Centre in Wigan today. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters

Mahmood tells Reform UK not to ‘pit white Britons against non-white Britons’ in response to Nowak murder

Robert Jenrick, the Reform UK Treasury spokesperson who used to be the Tory justice spokeperson, said the police officer who handcuffed Henry Nowak should be “prosecuted for a total dereliction of duty”.

But what mattered was why the officer acted like that, he said. Like Chris Philp (see 2.22pm), he also mentioned Valdo Calocane and Axel Rudakubana. He claimed there was “a sickness rooted in the anti-racism agenda” and he urged Mahmood to root it out.

Mahmood replies:

I don’t think this is a moment to pit white Britons against non-white Britons. This is a moment to reflect on a horrific tragedy.

She said everyone should be equal before the law.

That applies whether you’re a non-white British family that arrived here 50 years ago or 10 years ago, or if you’re a white Brit whose family have been here for about 300 years or more; we are all equal before the law of our land, and we should all support that principle.

Labour’s Tan Dhesi also condemned Reform UK for their response to the Nowak murder. He told MPs:

What’s very galling is that the likes of Reform, Restore and the far-right decided to politicise people’s pain, attacking the Sikh community for wearing the kirpan and wanting it banned – even though the kirpan was not used in this violent attack.

And they’ve decided to scapegoat and throw under the bus an entire community based on the actions of one violent murderer.

In her response to Wilkinson (see 2.51pm), Mahmood endorsed what he said about Nigel Farage – but without referencing him directly.

She said:

Anyone using this tragedy, this horrific, vile act of murder, in order to stoke further division in our country should be rejected by everyone across this house.

Political grandstanding and further division is not what is needed.

Clear-eyed action, and a commitment to ensuring all of our citizens are equal before the law of our collective land, is what is needed.

Lib Dems condemn Farage for using Nowak case ‘to divide British communities’

Max Wilkinson, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson, told MPs that most politicians had responded to the Henry Nowak case with sensitivyt. But not Nigel Farage, he said.

Referring to the Reform UK leader, Wilkinson said:

It is therefore all the more disturbing that we have seen [Farage] once again using tragedy to divide British communities. We all know why he does this. He’s made a career out of this and has become rich as a result.

But we are also well aware, as he is, that his actions are divisive, dangerous and fundamentally and un-British.

Mahmood says she won’t accept ‘differential treatment’ from police – but warns against over-correcting in response to Nowak case

In response to Philip, Mahmood said that the government was considering its response to the first report from the inquiry into the Southport killings, and the Nottingham inquiry is still taking place.

On the police anti-racism commitment (see 2.22pm), she said that initiative began life when the Tories were in power. She went on:

In fact, I’m old enough to remember when Theresa May called out disproportionate use of stop and search for black communities in particular.

She said the police should maintain the confidence of all communites.

Philp should accept the “context here relating to racism and the police”, she said.

Whatever changes are made, it is important that nobody over-corrects or course-corrects such that all of us as citizens are no longer equal before the law.

She said Philp should not ignore the “historic and legitimate concerns” from some communities about policing. She went on:

I condemn all types of differential and every type of differential, treatment. I do not stand for it.

My own track record as a government minister shows I will always act when there is evidence of differential treatment. And it is absolutely vital that that message is heard loud and clear across the whole of our country.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp says Nowak case shows police anti-racism commitment must go

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, responded for the Conservative party.

He said that the video released last night showed “the police attending were more concerned with the accusation of racism than they were in helping a dying man”. He went on:

We cannot tolerate a situation where false allegations of racism by criminals are believed. We cannot allow the colour of someone’s skin to be a consideration in how the police or other public services treat people, and yet this has happened.

Philp said Valdo Calocane, the Nottingham knife killer, was “not sectioned by mental health professionals because they thought there was ‘overrepresentation of young black males in mental health detention’.”

And he said that the head teacher of Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, was accused of racial stereotyping when she said he was a threat. The risk assesment was dialed down, he said.

He went on:

The police anti-racism commitment, published in March 2025 by the NPCC and the College of Policing, urges police forces to reverse engineer the same arrest rates between ethnic groups, even though the offending rates are different, by treating different ethnic groups differently.

Let that sink in for a moment. An official police document actually says people should be treated differently based on the colour of their skin.

I’ve said before at this despatch box at least twice that document should be withdrawn.

The dangerous ideology of so-called anti-racism, allowing people to be treated differently based on race, must end.

Extreme activists have hijacked the policymaking process, and this is where it has led. It has no place in policing. It has no place anywhere.

So does the home secretary agree that the so-called police anti-racism commitment must urgently be withdrawn? It is morally wrong and it is dangerous as well.

Mahmood condemns those seeking ‘political profit’ from Nowak tragedy

Mahmood said that, in the light of this case, there have been calls to limit the right of Sikhs to carry a kirpan, a ceremonial knife.

She said:

There have been calls to limit the right of Sikhs to carry their ceremonial knife, the kirpan, one of the five holy items in their faith.

The Offensive Weapons Act of 2019, passed under the previous government, clarified and strengthened existing legal protections in relation to long weapons. This included extending defences so that kirpan can be lawfully possessed for religious reasons, and used in religious and ceremonial contexts.

But let me be clear, carrying a knife for the purpose of religious observance is one thing. Using it as so tragically occurred in this case is quite another.

It is a vile act, a crime of the utmost severity, and it will be met with the severest punishment.

Yesterday, the Nowak family ended their statement with a powerful call to us all. I quote: “We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension.”

They quoted the words of the prosecuting lawyer and I quote again: “This is not a case about Sikhism. This is not a case about racism. This is a case about murder.”

I echo those words. We cannot cannot allow this murder to turn communities against one another.

We must condemn those who seek personal, political profit from tragedy.

Mahmood ended by quoting the again from the statement from Nowak’s family.

I call on everyone here to be responsible in this moment to allow justice to run its full course.

But while we must be limited in what we can say, we must not be limited in how we act.

I will end with the words of the Novak family once more. Last night they wrote that no other family should experience the heartbreak and horror of losing a child to knife crime.

Let that be the challenge to us all across this house, across government and across society. It is the very least we can do to honour the memory of Henry Nowak.

Mahmood said the government was committed to tackling knife crime.

This government is committed to halving knife crime in this decade and, since the start of this parliament, we have made progress.

Knife crime has fallen by 10%. Knife homicides are down 27% at their lowest level in a decade.

But clearly we must do more whilst there are still tragedies like this one, and for that reason, we have recently published our halving knife crime plan.

It sets out how we will go further to drive sustained reductions in violence.

Mahmood condemns ‘dangerous’ commentary, saying one officer wrongly linked to Nowak case has faced death threats

She said:

Let me also be clear about one other thing, a dangerous undercurrent that I have seen in the reaction to this awful crime.

Threats against police officers are utterly unacceptable. There can be no justification for intimidation, abuse or attempts to take the law into one’s own hands.

A police officer unrelated to this case has been misidentified online and subjected to death threats. He has been forced to relocate to protect himself and his family.

Misinformation and inflammatory commentary is making a dreadful situation even worse.

We must all together condemn it, and we must also allow the facts to be established to the appropriate investigations and the courts, and we must do so calmly and responsibly.

Mahmood says ‘everyone equal before law’, and police must operate ‘without fear or favour’

Mahmood turned to allegations of two-tier policing. She said:

There have been accusations of two-tier policing, that one community has been prioritised over another.

It will be for the IOPC to determine the facts with regard to this specific case, and I cannot and will not comment on them.

But let me say this on the question of preferential treatment more widely.

The police in this country have a sacred duty to police without fear or favour. Everyone in this country is equal before the law. It is the promise upon which our whole justice system rests, and the equality of every citizen is the foundation on which the openness, tolerance and generosity of this country rests.

Mahmood says police arrest footage ‘disturbing’, but police watchdog must be allowed to investigate

Mahmood pays tribute to “the dignified and powerful words of the Novak family in the statement they gave after yesterday’s sentencing”.

They deserve answers. They deserve answers in particular, about what happened on that awful night and the actions of the police officers who arrived on the scene.

I expect many in this house, and many more across this country, have now seen the police officer’s bodycam footage released last night.

It is, without question, a disturbing and tragic thing to see. People are rightly asking questions about how the situation was handled, and they are shocked and disquieted to hear Henry’s words: “I can’t breathe.”

I know that it is difficult to wait any longer for answers, but there is a proper process to assess whether there have been incidents of police misconduct led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the IOPC.

They will determine what could and should have been done differently. They will determine what action may need to be taken against individual officers.

The family yesterday called on me “to ensure the IOPC has the resources, authority and independence it needs to conduct a full, fearless and transparent investigation. I can confirm today that I will do so.

The IOPC will be equipped and encouraged to act, to find the truth and to ensure, if necessary, that there are consequences.

The footage in question is here:

Police bodycam footage shows arrest of Henry Nowak after he was stabbed – video

Mahmood says murder of Nowak ‘horrifying act’, and further charges pending against family members

Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is speaking now.

She says the murder of Henry Nowak was “a horrifying act”.

Vickrum Digwa murdered him, and accused him of racism.

Digwa has been sentenced to life in prison, and will serve at least 21 years, she says.

She says Digwa’s mother has been convicted of assisting an offender. She is due to be sentenced on 17 July.

And the CPS has today authorised further charges are pending against other members of his family. She says, because charges are pending, there is a limit to what can be said.

No 10 says Starmer uses disappearing messages on WhatsApp, provided proper record keeping not affected

At the No 10 lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said that Keir Starmer does use disappearing messages on WhatsApp. This morning the Tories claimed that, as a result, the public were not getting a full picture of Starmer’s dealings with Peter Mandelson. (See 9.09am.)

These are from Adam Bienkov from Byline Times.

Keir Starmer’s spokesman admits that the Prime Minister does automatically delete his Whatsapp messages, when asked why he barely features in the Mandelson files.

Says “some material may no longer be available where devices are changed or messages were set to disappear for legitimate reasons”

Keir Starmer’s spokesman says it’s fine for the PM to use disappearing Whatsapp messages as long as it doesn’t affect proper “record keeping”.

Asked how it possibly can’t affect it, given those records are automatically deleted, they reply that there will be a government review of Whatsapp use

Shabana Mahmood to give Commons statement on Henry Nowak murder

Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will soon be giving a Commons statement about the murder of Henry Nowak. On Monday Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years for the murder of 18-year-old Nowak, a student, in Southampton.

The case has become prominent for at least three reasons.

First, when the police arrived at the scene where Nowak had been attacked and was slumped on the ground, they initially believed the word of Digwa, who claimed that he was the victim and that he had been racially abused. Nowak was handcuffed as he was dying.

Second, Digwa, a Sikh, attacked Nowak with a large version of a kirpan, or a religiously sanctioned knife. The case has triggered a debate about whether exemptions to knife laws that apply to kirpans are approporiate.

And, third, rightwingers have claimed that the police response to the incident shows that the police are biased against white people and that a system of “two-tier” justice is in force. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and others in his party have been making this argument aggressively for some days, and this morning Farage delivered a TV statement about it. (In normal circumstances Farage would hold a press conference, but in recent weeks Farage has become very relectant to take questions from journalists, presumably because he does not like being asked about the £5m he got from Christopher Harborne which he failed to declare, and where he got the money for his £1.4m house.) In his statement today Farage said people should respond to the police handling of the Nowak murder “with pure cold rage”. The Conservatives have also claimed that the case showed the police were too focused on tackling racism.

For more details of the case, here are the final sentencing remarks from Judge William Mousley, who presided over Digwa’s trial.

Starmer says police watchdog probe into how officers handled Henry Nowak murder must happen ‘as quickly as possible’

Keir Starmer has said the police watchdog’s investigation into how officers handled the case of murder victim Henry Nowak amid outrage over his treatment must “be carried out as quickly as possible and answers delivered”.

At the No 10 lobby briefing this morning, the PM’s spokesperson said Starmer raised the Nowak case at the start of cabinet today. He said:

The prime minister payed to Henry Nowak describing him as a kind, thoughtful and much-loved [person] whose life had been ripped away in the most appalling circumstances.

He said Henry’s killer shamelessly lied about him and then accused him of racism.

The prime minister said that in his last harrowing moments, Henry was then handcuffed by lay dying on the floor.

The prime minister said it was right that the IOPC [Independent Office for Police Conduct] was investing the police response, which he said needed to be carried out as quickly as possible, and answers delivered.

He said the thoughts of the whole cabinet were with Henry’s family today.