The murder of student Henry Novak in the UK has led to protests. And here's why
The details of the murder of student Henry Novak in the UK sparked protests in England and a wave of outrage on social media — even American billionaire Elon Musk commented on the situation. The incident was another indication of the crisis of liberal values in the UK. Why Novak's murder is compared to the murder of George Floyd, which stirred up the fight against racism in the United States, and what is the reason for the bias in the British police system — in the Izvestia article.
The murder of Henry Novak
• The murder of 18-year-old student Henry Novak took place in December 2025 in Southampton. The student was returning from a meeting with his football team. Passing by the Sikh Vikrum Digwa, he asked if he was a good person. In response, Digwa, who, in addition to a small traditional kirpan knife, wore a dagger with a 21 cm blade on his belt, as he himself stated, for religious purposes, attacked the young man and stabbed him at least five times with a dagger, and then filmed how the student tried to escape and fell.
Digva told the police who arrived at the scene that Novak had attacked him, tore off his turban and made racist remarks. Although the student told the police that he was injured and "couldn't breathe," they handcuffed him and took him to the police station, where he died. The court sentenced Digwa to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years, after which he will have the right to request his release. His mother, who took the dagger from the scene, was found guilty of complicity in the murder.
• The video of the arrest, published on June 2, provoked a violent reaction from the British, who were particularly outraged by the fact that the killer used the accusation of racism as an opportunity to evade responsibility, and the police were more interested in showing intolerance than investigating an armed attack. The incident was compared to the fatal police arrest of George Floyd in the United States, after which the Black Life Matters movement against racism against blacks began.
• The protests against the police that broke out in Southampton were explained by some right-wing politicians by the fact that the native British had now become "second-class people" in their homeland. Far-right activist Tommy Robinson said that if Novak "wasn't white, he wouldn't have been handcuffed." Digwa was not handcuffed even after it became known that it was he who had stabbed the Englishman. According to various estimates, from 1 to 4 thousand people took part in the street protests.
The reaction of the authorities
• Keir Starmer called for respect for the decision of Novak's family, which in its appeal asked not to use the circumstances of the student's death to incite hostility. British Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said in a statement to the House of Commons on June 2 that the Independent Office for Police Complaints (IOPC) would examine the actions of police officers during the arrest of Henry Novak and possible measures against employees. She added that she is aware of cases of a "two-tier system" in police work, where one community is given priority over others, but declined to comment on this until the results of the IOPC investigation.
• Digwa's mother will be sentenced on July 17, and charges may also be filed against other members of his family who helped mislead the police. The Government has promised to continue working to reduce crimes involving the use of cold steel.
The skew in the police system
• Anti-racism dominates the UK law enforcement system following the report of the commission chaired by Judge William MacPherson on the investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, a 19-year-old black student, published in 1999. The investigation revealed the existence of institutional racism against blacks in the ranks of the British police. Since then, the fight against intolerance has come to the fore, and the report itself has become a guide to law enforcement reform. After the Lawrence case, police officers received new instructions on how to investigate hate crimes and racial discrimination. Therefore, any such statements are taken extremely seriously by them.
• Critics of the reforms believe that in some cases, the emphasis on combating discrimination has led to distortions in the work of law enforcement agencies in the direction of emphasized respect for the rights of migrants to the detriment of the indigenous population. In 2025, a report by Baroness Louise Casey was published on the investigation of cases of sexual abuse of 1,400 British children aged 10 and over committed by Pakistani criminal gangs in Manchester and Yorkshire from 1997 to 2013. The investigation revealed the bias of the police, who hid the ethnicity of the perpetrators, and the refusal to investigate the crimes was motivated by the fact that the victims were "prostitutes" (the term "child prostitution" was excluded from British law only in 2015). Casey insisted that studying the ethnicity of criminals was not racist.
• The inertia of the British authorities in investigating crimes by migrants is also indicated by the fact that Casey's report appeared only after American businessman Elon Musk drew attention to numerous cases of violence against English children by migrants. He noted that at the time when the crimes were committed, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer served as Prosecutor General. Publications in Musk's messenger brought the scandal to the international level and prompted Starmer to initiate an investigation.
Migration policy crisis
• The protests in Southampton were another blow to Keir Starmer, who has already turned out to be the most unpopular prime minister in the history of the UK: his rating dropped to 19%. The main reasons for discontent are the health problems that emerged during the COVID—19 pandemic and migration policy. Migration to the UK has increased dramatically since the pandemic: in 2022, one in six UK residents was a migrant, and conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have exacerbated this problem.
• Under Starmer, the flow of migrants into the country doubled, including a sharp increase in illegal migrants, and the composition of arrivals has changed: now the majority are not skilled workers, but refugees. Crime has also increased: in 2023-2024, the number of shoplifting and assaults on store employees reached an unprecedented level and exceeded 20 million cases. There is no official data on the ethnicity of the perpetrators, but the British retail consortium noted that crimes are committed mainly by gangs, and their nature is becoming more aggressive. According to the estimates of the analytical center Policy Exchange, the increase in the crime rate annually costs the UK 10% of GDP.
• The change in ethnic composition also affects politics, especially since migrants have the right to vote in the elections of the police commissioner, municipal council and mayor. The local elections in May 2026 showed unexpectedly strong support for Nigel Farage's right-wing populist party, which advocates reducing the cost of supporting migrants and expelling those who have illegally arrived in the country. The Conservatives and the Labour Party received the fewest votes.
• The rise in popularity of nationalists is understandable, because as a result, scandals and protests also affect national minorities. The British Sikh communities have already complained about the threats against them. The politicians also called for a review of legislation on cold steel, allowing Sikhs to carry ritual kirpan knives, which are part of traditional attire and an important object of worship.
• The case received a strong response, as it turned out to be at the intersection of several problematic areas in the internal politics of the kingdom. The fatigue of the population from the consequences of migration policy, the largely failed integration of national minorities, the crisis in the popularity of traditional parties and the rise in the ratings of the extreme right, those who until recently were political outsiders – all this resulted in protest marches. In this situation, it would be incorrect to say that the British population opposes migrants, rather, we seem to disagree with the imbalance in the legal and political system, where the principles of multiculturalism, tolerance and inclusion are placed above the need to restore public order and combat crime, regardless of the origin of the perpetrator.
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