British Prime Minister condemns violence in far-right protests against police action in student stabbing case

Video shows UK police handcuffing victim of knife attack
British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, condemned this Wednesday (3) the episodes of violence recorded following protests against the police's actions in the case of student Henry Nowak, aged 18, stabbed to death in Southampton, in the south of England.
The controversy gained momentum after the release of images showing Nowak handcuffed while in agony and saying, in a weak voice: "I can't breathe".
READ ALSO: Video shows UK police handcuffing young man stabbed after false accusation of racism
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The video came to light after a judge sentenced 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa to at least 21 years in prison for the young man's murder and for lying to police by claiming he had been the target of racist insults.
Nowak was stabbed on December 3, 2025, when he was returning from a party. After the verdict and the release of the images, demonstrations were called to protest against police conduct.
Protesters confront the police during a protest against the actions of the British police, who handcuffed a stabbed teenager, who died moments later.
Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP
Starmer harshly criticized far-right leader Nigel Farage's calls for the population to react with "pure, cold anger" to the case, classifying these statements as "unforgivable". According to the Prime Minister, there is no justification for turning the tragedy into a reason for violence or social division.
On Tuesday night, a protest led by far-right groups ended in clashes in Southampton. Two people were arrested and 11 police officers were injured. Around 100 protesters tore down fences, threw bricks, flares and chairs at the officers, as well as pushing a burning dumpster towards the police, who responded with water jets and riot shields.
Poster shows the phrases 'I can't breathe' and 'I was stabbed', said by Nowak as the police handcuffed him.
Gareth Fuller/PA via AP
Farage and activist Tommy Robinson support this thesis and highlighted the similarity between Nowak's last words and those of George Floyd, an African-American man killed by a white police officer in the United States in 2020.
Despite pleas from Nowak's father that his son's death not be used to "create more division, hatred or tension", far-right figures turned the case into a symbol of the theory of the so-called "two-tier police", according to which white people would receive less favorable treatment than ethnic minorities.
Crowd gathered to protest in front of the Southampton police station, England, following the fatal stabbing of Henry Nowak, a British teenager who was handcuffed despite claiming to be the victim of the crime.
Gareth Fuller/PA via AP
The Labor government categorically rejects the existence of a "two-tier police". In Parliament, Starmer accused Farage, whose Reform UK party leads in opinion polls, of exploiting the tragedy to foment resentment and division.
Businessman Elon Musk also joined the debate by offering to fund legal action against the police.

Source: G1