Henry Nowak’s family have called on politicians to rebuild trust in the police as they stressed they “do not want anger to tear communities apart” in the wake of their son’s murder.
In a meeting with Kemi Badenoch on Thursday, the 18-year-old’s mother, father and stepmother agreed that the UK needs to “bring common sense back” to policing and how equality is treated under the law.
The student was ignored by police officers when he told them he had been stabbed, and died while being arrested and handcuffed after his killer, Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed he had been the victim of a racist attack.
The Conservative leader said Mr Nowak’s family, who are due to meet Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street this afternoon, have asked for “work across political parties and religions to rebuild trust in the police” after the murder.
“Everyone knows I have strong views about how we should deal with equality under the law. What the family agreed with me on is that we need to bring common sense back, and that is what we should all be fighting for,” Mrs Badenoch wrote on X.
“I promised the family that we will work to ensure there is a positive legacy for Henry out of this tragedy. That is my focus now.”
She also wrote: “Henry’s family do not want anger to tear communities apart. They are a family who have friends across faith and race, and so did Henry. His family want his memory to help bring our society together.”
Kemi Badenoch’s intervention comes after two people were arrested following violent protests that erupted near where the 18-year-old was murdered. The protests followed an outcry over Nowak’s treatment by police.
Sir Keir said “there are questions that need to be answered” about the police response to the murder, and added that the Independent Office for Police Conduct should be given space to “get on with their job” in investigating the case.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been condemned over his response to the murder, after he called for the public to respond with “pure, cold rage”.
Sir Keir said his actions were “unforgivable” and accused him of “only pretending” to sympathise with the teenager’s family, who had specifically appealed for their son’s death not to be used to create division.
The prime minister also accused Elon Musk of trying to “whip up division” in the UK over the murder, after the tech billionaire publicly commented on the case several times.
“We need to also assert who we are as a country, because Musk, again, has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division, that is not who we are in Britain,” he said.
“In Britain, we are reasonable, tolerant people. When we have a terrible case like Henry’s case, Henry Nowak, we react calmly as his family have done.”
Mr Musk has shared numerous posts about the murder, including a video from far-right activist Tommy Robinson, in which he claims Nowak was “murdered by racist police policies that target white people”.
He also wrote “it is this or death” in response to Rupert Lowe declaring a Restore UK government would put the student’s killer to death, “with the British people's approval”.
