No 10 urged to review religious knife rules after Henry Nowak murder

The police and crime commissioner for Hampshire is leading calls for a review of religious exemptions on the carrying of knives after the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak by a man carrying a “Sikh dagger” in Southampton . Donna Jones described the stabbing of university student Nowak as a “national tragedy” and said she was writing to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, about the issue. Hampshire police released footage from body-worn cameras showing Nowak being handcuffed despite repeatedly telling police officers that he had been stabbed. At one point an officer tells him: “I don’t think you have, mate.” Vickrum Digwa, who falsely claimed he had been racially abused and attacked by Nowak, is seen lying to police that the teenager knocked his turban off and caused an eye injury. Henry Nowak, 18, died last December after he was stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton. Photograph: Hampshire Police/PA Jones said: “Henry was falsely accused of racially aggravated assault as he lay dying on the ground, while his attacker stood by denying the violent act he had inflicted upon him. “It is devastating the officers did not believe Henry when he said he’d been stabbed and couldn’t breathe. His death is a national tragedy. Central to this incident is the fact that Vickrum Digwa was able to carry a knife in public because there is an exemption for those who observe the Sikh faith to carry ceremonial daggers. …