Full Interview: Henry Nowak’s Mum and Sister on His Death and Fighting for Justice

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Constable, Alexis Boon said: “Henry’s murder was a devastating tragedy, and our thoughts remain with his family and all those who loved him.

"I am incredibly sorry that in his final moments, when he needed us most, we failed him.

“I recognise that, for Henry's family, this has been about more than the circumstances of one night.

"They have rightly raised serious concerns about the police response and their treatment throughout the investigation and since. No family should ever find themselves in this position.

“The events surrounding Henry's death remain subject to extensive independent scrutiny. We are co-operating fully with the reviews by the Home Office and HMICFRS, the IOPC investigations and the coronial inquest. But I will not wait for their findings to make changes.

“Henry deserved better. His family deserved better. I am determined that we learn every lesson from this tragedy and ensure families who place their trust in us are treated with honesty, compassion and professionalism.”

IOPC Director of Engagement Derrick Campbell said: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Henry’s family and friends for their tragic loss.

"The IOPC is committed to establishing the full circumstances of this case, including whether any of the officers involved should face disciplinary proceedings, and providing Henry's family with answers to the questions they rightly have about how the police treated Henry in the way they did on that terrible night, and why.

“Our investigators continue to have regular contact with Henry's family. Since Vickrum Digwa was convicted of his murder, they have met with members of Henry’s family on a number of occasions to provide them with updates and to explore their concerns, about police actions and our investigation, in more detail.

“We are working hard to conclude our independent investigation as quickly as possible while ensuring we have robustly explored all lines of enquiry.”

A CPS spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with Henry Nowak’s family and friends for the unimaginable pain they have suffered.

“Our priority in this case was always securing justice. That means we must carefully balance our duty to protect the integrity of live court proceedings with our engagement with families.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to share sensitive evidence with Henry’s family until the case was trial-ready; to avoid any risk of prejudicing proceedings. We discussed this with them and explained that decision.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The murder of Henry Nowak was a tragedy. His life was cruelly cut short in a horrific and senseless act of violence.

"Our thoughts are with Henry’s family who have experienced unimaginable loss. We are continuing discussions with Sikh stakeholders and the police about the law on carrying knives in public and the religious reasons defence.

“The Home Secretary has also announced a rapid independent review, led by Alex Chalk KC, into the circumstances surrounding Henry’s murder, including whether opportunities were missed and whether lessons can be learned.

“This Government is committed to halving knife crime in a decade, and it is down 11% in the last two years. But while there are still tragedies like this, there is more to do.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Henry Nowak and it is right his killer received a life sentence.

“This Government inherited a prison system days from running out of cells. Had we failed to act, the police would have been forced to halt arrests, putting communities at untold risk. The new Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor have excluded even more offenders from these changes and wanted to go further but, because of the prison crisis we inherited, doing so would risk the prison system collapsing.

“We are pulling every lever to make sure this never happens again and fix our broken justice system. That includes building 14,000 new prison spaces, with 3,300 already completed, record funding for victim support, and imposing the toughest range of restrictions on offenders in the community to date.”

#midterm election #election results #BreakingNews #WorldNews #Top News Today #World Buzz #Spotlight News election results News Today Buzz News