The family of Henry Nowak’s killer have said they are “deeply sorry for the pain and suffering” his relatives are enduring, but warned the student’s death must not “inflame division”.
Vickrum Digwa fatally stabbed the 18-year-old student in December 2025 after falsely accusing him of a racist attack. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years at Southampton Crown Court on Monday.
Chilling video footage from the night Mr Nowak died shows how police handcuffed and arrested him as he lay on the floor, despite his repeated pleas he had been stabbed. He died shortly after.
The teenager’s murder has sparked outcry from politicians including Nigel Farage, who labelled his death as “proof that we are living in a two-tier culture” and called for an end to “anti-white prejudice”.
Digwa’s family have apologised to the family of Mr Nowak and for bringing the Sikh Community into “disrepute”, but said the tragedy should not be used to “inflame division or hostility towards any community”.
In a statement issued through Sikh PA, the family said: “The loss of a young life is a grief that no family should ever have to carry. We are deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the Nowak family has had to endure.
“We love Vickrum. We will continue to love him. That love does not stand in opposition to the sorrow we feel for the Nowak family. Both are real, and both will remain with us for the rest of our lives.
“We would give anything to turn back time so the path of both Henry and Vickrum never crossed that night. We cannot change what has happened, we just hope that no further pain is caused in its name.
“We apologise to the Sikh community for our son’s actions which have unfairly brought the community into disrepute.”
They added: “We ask that this tragedy is not used by anyone to inflame division or hostility towards any community.
“We now ask for privacy as we come to terms with what lies ahead.”
In a video statement on Tuesday, Reform UK leader Mr Farage called for a recognition that “white lives matter” and said Mr Nowak was “actually treated in a way that meant an accusation of a racial slur was treated more seriously than an act of murder”.
“Enough of anti-white prejudice, a promotion of the idea that white lives matter just as much as black lives,” he said. “An end to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and positive discrimination, but a country that treats everybody equally and fairly before the law.
“This is serious. This is urgent. I fear for where our society will be in a few short years if we don’t grip this and do it very, very quickly.”
Mr Farage said he sent one of “multiple requests” for Digwa’s sentence to be reviewed under the unduly lenient sentence (ULS) scheme.
Police and crime commissioner for Hampshire Donna Jones has said she is leading calls for a review of religious exemptions on the carrying of knives after Mr Nowak’s murder.
The 18-year-old was stabbed with a knife Digwa carried as part of his Sikh religion.
Ms Jones told The Guardian: “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.
“I intend to write to the prime minister to request a national review of the laws concerning the carrying of bladed articles under religious exemptions.”
Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds called bodycam footage of the scene “every parent’s nightmare” and said there are “serious questions to answer” over the police’s response.
But he insisted it is for the Independent Office for Police Conduct to review the incident “without fear or favour”.
He told the BBC’s Today programme on Tuesday morning: “The footage, the body-cam footage, is every parent’s nightmare.
“It is harrowing, and it is absolutely shocking, and the conduct of the police, when you look at it at the scene, is shocking.”
He added: “I accept, in this, what has happened here, the heinous events we’ve seen, the chilling and harrowing footage – there are serious questions to answer.
“Nobody is disputing that. It must be for the Independent Office for Police Conduct, without fear or favour, to ask all the questions that are necessary to get to the truth of what happened here.”
