Henry Nowak killer's mother could be released early

The mother of murderer Vickrum Digwa could be in line for deportation from the UK, the Home Office has signalled.

Kiran Kaur, 53, was jailed for three years in July for removing the knife used by her son, Vickrum Digwa, to kill student Henry Nowak from the crime scene.

However Kaur, who spent several months on remand, could serve less than half of her sentence and be freed around the anniversary of Mr Nowak's death under the Government's early release scheme, ITV News reported.

The Home Office and Ministry of Justice declined to comment on individual cases, but said: "We will always seek to deport foreign criminals at the first opportunity."

Kaur, who is an Indian national, could be eligible for the government's deportation scheme.

She is also appealing against her sentence, with a hearing scheduled at the Court of Appeal on 5 November.

Kaur's son Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years on 1 June for the murder of the 18-year-old student, after falsely claiming Mr Nowak had racially abused him in Southampton on 3 December.

Some 5,000 prisoners are scheduled to be released in stages over the next year, down from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and the most serious child sex offenders.

Ministers say the expanded early release scheme is needed to prevent the justice system from collapsing, after a summer when the issue dominated news headlines.

Some 650 criminals were this week released from prisons around the country under the scheme, less than two weeks after 700 were set free early.

The Home Office said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Henry Nowak, whose life was cruelly cut short in a horrific act of violence."