Protesters Clash with Police in Southampton Over Student's Death

Demonstrators clashed with police in the southern English city of Southampton on Tuesday while protesting at what they said was an example of anti-white policing in the case of a student killed in December.

Protesters threw stones and other missiles at police in clashes close to the site where 18-year-old Henry Nowak died of his wounds while handcuffed by police after his killer, a Sikh man, accused the victim of racist abuse.

Protest in Southampton turns violent

The protest, attended by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, came after the killer, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years in prison on Monday.

Hundreds of protesters first gathered outside Southampton Central Police Station, with violence breaking out after many of them walked to the area of Portswood where the murder occurred.

Riot police there were forced to retreat from the line they were holding as they were pelted with chairs, rocks and flares, with demonstrators chanting "Henry, Henry."

The murder has aroused a heated debate in the UK on policing, race and knife crime in the UK.

Unrest has been additionally fueled by the release of a video showing police initially disbelieving Nowak's statements that he had been stabbed.

What did the video of Nowak's arrest show?

Body cam footage of the incident on December 3, 2025, shows Nowak lying on the ground in handcuffs repeatedly saying: "I've been stabbed," to which an officer replies: "Don't think you have, mate."

Nowak is also heard saying repeatedly, "I can't breathe."

When officers finally discovered his injuries, they uncuffed him and started CPR, police said.

His killer was standing nearby and told officers he had also been injured, while claiming that Nowak had knocked off his turban and pulled his hair.

Digwa's claim of racist abuse was dismissed by the judge who sentenced him.

"You are the only person to make that claim and it is completely at odds with his previous character," Judge William Mousley told the accused.

Digwa used a 21cm (8in) blade he said he carried as part of his Sikh religion to stab Nowak, who was walking home alone after a night out with friends.

Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, has been convicted of assisting an offender after trying to hide the murder weapon. She will be sentenced on July 17.

Far-right outrage

The leader of the far-right party Reform UK, Nigel Farage, said people should respond with "pure cold rage" to Nowak's treatment by police, calling it evidence of a "two-tier culture."

Nowak was "actually treated in a way that meant an accusation of a racial slur was treated more seriously than an act of murder," Farage said, calling it an example of "anti-white prejudice."

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, however, has criticized the protests in Portswood as being "completely unacceptable."

She accused the demonstrators of "hijacking this tragedy to stir up violence and disorder" despite Nowak's family's call not to instrumentalize the murder to fuel social division and hatred.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has said it will review anti-racism guidance — called the Race Action Plan — which some say influenced the way officers treated Nowak.

NPCC chairman Gavin Stephens said: "We are listening to legitimate concerns about how some of these commitments are worded or phrased, and where needed we can and will make changes, but this should not detract from the intent, which is to improve the quality of policing."

On Tuesday, police in the county of Hampshire, where Southampton is located, said an officer not connected to the case has faced death threats after being misidentified in online posts.