The family of Henry Nowak, the slain teenager who was killed last year in a knife attack while officers denied that he had been stabbed, say police gaslit them and seemed more interested in protecting the reputation of the force than the trut
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Henry Nowak’s family have gone public with allegations against police and the British government’s police watchdog, stating that Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary officers attempted to manipulate and deceive them after the murder of their son, as the investigating force pushed ahead with a narrative that Henry had been the aggressor during the ultimately fatal incident rather than the victim, with his killer Vikrum Digwa and his family having falsely claimed that Nowak was racially abusive.
Extraordinarily, the Nowak family revealed that the footage of the final moments before 18-year-old Henry’s death, which caused shock around the world, showing officers callously dismissing the teen’s assertion that he could not breathe, was not provided to them until it was shown in court during Digwa’s trial.
Infamously, an officer was heard saying, “I don’t think you have, mate”, as Nowak said he had been stabbed. Officers then proceeded to handcuff the teen as he lay dying on the ground.
The fact the video was withheld from the family until the very last possible moment means that, had the murder not gone to court — should the killer have pleaded guilty, negating the need for a trial, for instance — the truth would likely never have been known.
Making a very clear accusation against the police, Katie Nowak, Henry’s stepmother, told broadcaster ITV: “I fear that we may have been manipulated in our darkest hours. And I fear that some decisions were made to try and protect the police and their reputation rather than help us as a family… In the last year, our world has changed twice. The first time was the night that we were told that Henry had died. And the second time was when we watched that video.”
Police Watchdog Claims UK Still Needs More Anti-Racist Policies Despite Pushback in Wake of Nowak Killinghttps://t.co/AqEpgx2dZO
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 8, 2026
Britain’s Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the ‘police watchdog’, initially investigated the police’s response and quickly found officers had responded appropriately and there was no need for further action. Yet after the police bodycam footage of officers telling Henry he hadn’t been stabbed was played in court, it quickly became apparent the IOPC had been too hasty in reaching that conclusion, and a second investigation was launched, while a broader government review of events has also been announced.
Henry’s father, Mark Nowak, said police constantly changed their story when talking to the family and that officers had attempted to “hoodwink” them. He told ITV: “The story was evolving every time we had an interaction… What started off as, 'When the police arrived, we administered first aid', moved through a stage where: 'When the police arrived, they detained everyone'… To: 'We actually only detained Henry', to then: 'We handcuffed Henry', and then: 'We placed Henry under arrest'.
“That evolution of what actually happened that night really shocked us, and we felt we were being hoodwinked. We felt we were being not told the truth.”
Killer’s Mother Who Hid Henry Nowak Murder Knife to be Released Early by Left-Wing Government https://t.co/4ODkCJAGkt
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 16, 2026
Officers initially told the family that their son had been the aggressor in the incident that saw him repeatedly stabbed by Vickrum Digwa with a traditional Sikh dagger and asked them to approve a press release that framed Henry as the attacker. The knifeman told officers he had been the victim of a racial assault, which police initially appeared to accept as fact, and his mother was enlisted to hide the murder weapon. Both have now been jailed.
As part of this initial framing of the narrative, police immediately began to interrogate the Nowak family on Henry’s political views after informing them he had been killed. Ironically, police at this time were also lecturing the public on spreading “misinformation” about the murder case online. As previously reported:
Southampton Crown Court heard that the police had uncritically believed the false narrative promulgated by the Digwa family that Nowak had been racially abusive, a claim that was thoroughly debunked… despite having evidence that Vikrum Digwa was apparently a serial liar, the police force had initially sought to cast Nowak as the aggressor in the incident, releasing a statement implying that he had started the fight and assaulted Digwa and his brother. This was later dropped by the force after pushback from the Nowak family, the paper of record reported.
Nevertheless, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary also reportedly sought to publicly intervene to warn the public about supposed "misinformation" about the case during the trial, a rare intervention from a police force… It comes as the political establishment in London is seeking to use the case to push for more censorship powers to combat so-called misinformation.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said in the wake of the riots in Southampton following the release of bodycam footage of Nowak's death that she was "very concerned" about social media amplifying false narratives during times of unrest.
Police Force Sought to Cast Stabbing Victim Nowak as Aggressor, Planned to Lecture Public on ‘Misinformation’: Reporthttps://t.co/hsEcsCJq3g
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 7, 2026
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