Court of appeal to review sentence for man who murdered Henry Nowak

The 21-year minimum jail term handed to a Sikh man who murdered Henry Nowak is to be reviewed by the court of appeal after a referral by the solicitor general.

In a statement on Monday, the solicitor general, Ellie Reeves, said the case had “horrified me”.

Violent protests fomented by the far right followed Monday’s conviction of Vickrum Digwa, 23, for stabbing Nowak, an 18-year-old university student, in Southampton in December 2025.

Digwa falsely claimed he had been racially abused and attacked by Nowak. Body-camera footage released by Hampshire police showed Nowak being handcuffed despite repeatedly telling police officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe. One officer was heard telling Nowak: “I don’t think you have [been stabbed], mate.”

Southampton crown court heard that Digwa had been wearing a small kirpan, a ceremonial blade worn by Sikhs, under his clothing around his neck, which met his religious obligation and which Sikhs are permitted to carry. He was also carrying a much larger knife, which he used to stab Nowak.

Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years, minus time served awaiting trial. The appropriateness of this will now be considered by the court of appeal after a referral under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. The scheme allows anyone to ask for certain crown court sentences to be reviewed by the attorney general’s office, which then decides whether to refer them to the court of appeal.

Keir Starmer previously said he had found the body cam footage of Nowak’s last moments “harrowing” and that there were “clearly serious questions that need to be addressed, not least, how accusations of racism inform the decision-making in this case”.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct, the watchdog for police forces in England and Wales, is looking into the case. Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, told the Commons she expected to see its report within three months.