Henry Nowak assassin’s household breaks silence – ‘we might give something to show again time’
The family of 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa have apologised to murder victim, Henry Nowak’s family and the Sikh community after the fatal stabbing of the 18-year-old student
The family of Vickrum Digwa have issued an apology to the family of murder victim Henry Nowak and for bringing the Sikh Community into “disrepute”. The statement comes as the murderer’s mother, Kiran Kaur, awaits sentencing for assisting an offender by taking the knife used to kill the 18-year-old in Southampton back to the nearby family home.
The 53-year-old will be sentenced on July 17 once a pre-sentence report has been prepared on her. In a statement issued through Sikh PA, a charity which seeks to represent the Sikh community in the media, the unnamed family members 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. 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.”
Sentencing Vickrum at Southampton Crown Court, Judge William Mousley KC said that the 23-year-old showed a “callous disregard” for the well-being of Mr Nowak by continuing to make films of him suffering and “ignoring much of his desperation at having been stabbed”.
The judge continued: “You told him that had not happened, no doubt to convince others who were nearby. Your brother did much the same, although he may just have been accepting that which you had told him, rather than lying himself.
“You lied to him that you had been attacked, picking up on his question about whether it had been accompanied by racism by falsely claiming that Henry had called you a ‘Paki’.
“I am sure that Henry had said nothing racist.”
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has described the conduct of police officers at the scene of Henry Nowak’s stabbing as “shocking”.
Speaking on the BBC’s Today programme on Tuesday morning, he said: “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.
“I’m sure your thoughts, my thoughts, the thoughts of all your listeners this morning are with Henry’s family and Henry’s friends, not only being the victim of a heinous crime, but also the lies of the perpetrator, the lies at the scene, the false accusations of racism,” he added.
“But remember, as well, this perpetrator lied and lied and lied, and put Henry’s family through a whole contested trial.”
Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage said there needed to be an end to “anti-white prejudice” and a recognition that “white lives matter”.
He said: “The most important thing that needs to change, that has to change, if our society is not to be ripped apart, where communities start to distrust each other and deeply distrust the police and all the other institutions of this country, is we need a change in culture.
“Enough of anti-white prejudice, a promotion of the idea that white lives matter just as much as black lives.
“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.”
