The Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, has called on the UK government to tackle knife crime and ‘misinformation about faith communities’ after the murderer of Henry Nowak was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court.

Speaking in the House of Lords  on June 3, two days after Vickrum Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing the 18-year-old university student to death in December 2025, Bishop Snow said:

‘My Lords, my thoughts and prayers are also with the family and friends of Henry Nowak in their grief and suffering. Like many others, I echo the courageous words of Henry’s father in his powerful call that his son’s death should not “be used to create further division, hatred or tension”.

‘Sadly, there has been a lot of misinformation spread around this appalling crime. Some have not heeded the call from Henry’s father, which is incredibly disrespectful. I am sure that all noble Lords would call on people to respect his words and to work for peace in their local communities.

‘I am also deeply saddened that some have targeted Sikh communities as a result of this terrible crime. Along with my fellow Lords Spiritual, I stand firmly with Sikh leaders who have made it very clear that, whatever the words used by the murderer, and whatever the words used by his lawyers, faith was not a factor in this crime.

‘I refer noble Lords to the words of Professor Jagbir Jhutti-Johal, an expert in Sikh theology, who stated clearly that the knife used in this crime was categorically not a kirpan, as others have said. The perpetrator was carrying a much larger knife. My hope, therefore, is that we will focus on the societal problem of knife crime.’

Bishop Snow then asked Labour’s Minister of State at the Home Office, Lord Hanson of Flint: ‘Will the Minister reaffirm the Government’s commitments both to tackling knife crime and to tackling misinformation about faith communities?’

Lord Hanson replied:

‘The Right Reverend Prelate is absolutely right, and I welcome his support for the Sikh community and for the way in which he has expressed it. As I mentioned in my initial comments, I also very much respect the words of the Nowak family. Everyone should respect these words, and those who have called for action, or for rage, or for other measures as a result, should reflect carefully on what the family have said.’

Sentencing Digwa Judge William Mousley KC said:

‘Not long after 11pm on 3/12/2025, Henry Nowak was walking back to his university accommodation in Portswood, Southampton after an evening out…Henry was not drunk but may have been affected a little by the small amount of alcohol he had consumed over the previous few hours. He was not a regular drinker and did not generally drink to excess. His blood alcohol level at the time of his death was below the legal limit for driving. He was alone and unarmed. You happened to be walking south along Belmont Road on the same pavement. It was to be a chance meeting.

‘You were sober but were carrying a large Sikh dagger in a sheath attached to a belt over the outside of your clothing. It is a strict requirement of the Sikh faith to have a knife, called a kirpan, at all times. Generally, this will be a small knife, hidden from view, often on a length of cord and worn around the neck. You had that but, in addition, the large dagger in a sheath. You are a member of an order of Sikhs called the Nihang who have a tradition of having a second knife, or kirpan and that is often fully visible, believing that the guru will look favourably on that. You observed that tradition in your everyday life, at work and in public. However, it was not a strict requirement; that is borne out by the fact that neither your brother nor father who arrived on the scene after you had stabbed Henry were so dressed.’

Henry Nowak died in police handcuffs after an officer from Hampshire Police arrested him for a racially aggravated assault against Digwa, an accusation the Judge described as ‘lies’.

Speaking outside Southampton Crown Court, Mark Nowak, Henry’s father, said:

‘Henry did not die with dignity. He did not die with the care he deserved. He lost consciousness before anyone believed him. Let me be absolutely clear – we hold Vickrum Digwa solely and 100 per cent responsible for the brutal murder of our son. But Henry should not have died on the streets of Southampton in police custody. The way he was treated was inhumane and degrading.

‘His murderer, however, was afforded decency. He was believed. He was not handcuffed when arrested. He was not handcuffed when transported to the police station. As far as we understand, he was never handcuffed at all. And, as Vickrum Digwa himself told the court, while under arrest for Henry’s murder, police even took him to the kitchen so he could choose his food. The contrast is unbearable.’

In June 2020 Bishop Snow was pictured taking the knee outside Leicester Cathedral after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Bishop Snow said: ‘I told a handful of colleagues that I would be taking the knee in Cathedral Gardens as a personal and individual act and made it clear that we couldn’t “gather” due to lockdown guidelines and some colleagues have also taken the knee separately.

‘I am deeply shocked by the appalling brutality we have seen against black people in America and I stand alongside those who are suffering and peacefully calling for urgent change, as well as committing to make changes in our own lives and the institutions we are part of.

‘Structural and systemic racial prejudice exists across societies and institutions. We must act to change that, as well as addressing our own unconscious biases that lead us to discriminate against others.’

The US State Department commented on Henry Nowak’s murder on X on June 4:

‘Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West. The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time.’

Julian Mann, a former Church of England vicar, is an evangelical journalist based in Lancashire, UK.