A senior Cabinet Office minister has described bodycam footage of Henry Nowak being handcuffed after being stabbed as “absolutely harrowing”.Vickrum Digwa, 23, was on Monday jailed for life to serve a minimum of 21 years for stabbing Mr Nowak with a ceremonial knife with a 21cm blade, which he carried as part of his religion.Footage shows that Mr Nowak, 18, was handcuffed by police while he lay dying after the man who stabbed him told officers that he had racially abused him.Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News: "First of all, seeing some of the footage, this is absolutely harrowing. This was a heinous crime. "I think I'm sure all of our thoughts... will be with Henry's family and friends, being the victim of such a heinous crime and losing his life in those terrible, terrible circumstances.”It comes after Sir Keir Starmer on Monday said “it is right” that the police watchdog is investigating officers’ response to the stabbing.The prime minister said: “It is right that the IOPC is investigating the police’s response to his senseless murder. And we must end the cycle of tragedy by tackling the horror of knife crime.”Conduct of police officers at the scene of Henry Nowak’s stabbing was “shocking”, minister saysCabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has said the conduct of police officers at the scene of Henry Nowak’s stabbing was “shocking”.He told the BBC’s Today programme on Tuesday morning: “The footage, the body-cam footage, is every parent’s nightmare.“It is harrowing, and it is absolutely shocking, and the conduct of the police, when you look at it at the scene, is shocking.“I’m sure your thoughts, my thoughts, the thoughts of all your listeners this morning are with Henry’s family and Henry’s friends, not only being the victim of a heinous crime, but also the lies of the perpetrator, the lies at the scene, the false accusations of racism,” he added.“But remember, as well, this perpetrator lied and lied and lied, and put Henry’s family through a whole contested trial.”Asked to comment on Nigel Farage’s statement on X, in which the Reform UK leader claimed the police officers who handcuffed Henry Nowak were “more concerned by an accusation of racism than an act of murder”, Mr Thomas-Symonds replied: “Look, I accept, in this, what has happened here, the heinous events we’ve seen, the chilling and harrowing footage – there are serious questions to answer.“Nobody is disputing that.“It must be for the Independent Office for Police Conduct, without fear or favour, to ask all the questions that are necessary to get to the truth of what happened here.”Dan Haygarth2 June 2026 09:00Farage says he has asked Attorney General to review sentenceNigel Farage said he had asked the Attorney General to review the life sentence with a minimum of 21 years given to killer Vickrum Digwa for being unduly lenient.The Reform UK leader said in an address on Tuesday morning: “This is wrong. All the values and standards of living in a free country where everybody is judged equally before the law have been trashed and thrown away.” Dan Haygarth2 June 2026 08:54Farage compares death of Henry Nowak to George FloydNigel Farage has just delivered an address in which he criticised the police response to the murder of Henry Nowak.Nowak, 18, was handcuffed by police while he lay dying after the man who stabbed him told police he had racially abused him.Mr Farage accused the police of treating an accusation of a racial slurs more seriously than an act of murder.Referring to the body cam footage, Mr Farage said: “What does he say? I can't breathe. Familiar words.”The same words were said by George Floyd, whose death sparked the Black Lives Matter movement after he was killed by police in the US.“Remember the reaction to that, and the way the police behaved within a few days. Keir Starmer was taking the knee. Black Lives Matter exploded all over the country,” Mr Farage said.Accusing politicians of being “silent” on Mr Nowak’s death, Mr Farage added: “Proof if ever there was any, that we're living in a two-tier culture in this country where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities.”Athena Stavrou2 June 2026 08:25‘Embarrassing’ Pat McFadden messages proof of government’s transparency, minister saysA government minister has said the “embarrassing” tranche of messages between Peter Mandelson and Pat McFadden is proof the government is being “open and transparent”.Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds sought to defend the work and pensions minister after a series of his messages with the former Labour peer revealed harsh criticism of the prime minister and Labour MPs.Mr Thomas-Symonds insisted Mr McFadden has “always been very consistent” on welfare and added the messages are “an indication of the government's determination to comply with this humble address”."You have got what are - frankly, not just here, but more generally - messages that are embarrassing,” he told BBC Breakfast. “They're things that people said perhaps out of frustration, however it may be privately, that they never expected to be made public."But the reason they are public is because the government is being open and transparent.”Joe Middleton2 June 2026 07:53Minister describes phone being stolen ahead of Mandelson file releaseA government minister has said he had his phone stolen last year, meaning some WhatsApp’s between himself and Peter Mandelson were lost.Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said his personal phone was stolen on October 15 2025, as he was walking home from a dinner on Marsham Street.He said three people on mopeds swiped his phone, which he reported to the Metropolitan Police.He told Sky News that he told the humble address team that messages would have included Mandelson and himself congratulating each other on respective appointments, and the former Labour peer campaigning to be Chancellor of Oxford University.Joe Middleton2 June 2026 07:48Everything we know about the Mandelson files so farThe second tranche of the Mandelson files dropped on Monday afternoon.Our journalists have combed through hundreds of pages of documents, emails, and WhatsApp messages. Here is what we know:The documents show that Lord Peter Mandelson was told it was only necessary to provide information on his current friendships with foreign nationals during his vetting process.​He also told David Lammy a month before his appointment that the government would “never regret” making him ambassador.The ex-Labour peer “declined to comply” with a request to hand over his WhatsApp messages and other information on his personal phone to the government.​However, messages he exchanged with ministers reveal several criticisms he had of the government and its leader Keir Starmer. ​Some of those include Mandelson warning Starmer's Downing Street operation was “beleaguered and bereft”, and, in separate messages, speculating that the prime minister may not survive a welfare rebellion.​The then-ambassador to the US also said Pat McFadden was “not a power house”, admitted he was “very worried” about the Chagos deal, and accused Wes Streeting of having “early mid life crisis”.​Mandelson also told ministers to behave in a more “Trumpian risk taking and dare devil way” in the aftermath of Labour’s loss to Reform in the Runcorn by-election.​Cabinet ministers have also been dragged into the spotlight, with messaging revealing McFadden told Mandelson that Labour MPs only ask “who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others”.​Mandelson discussed a story written by The Independent's Political Editor David Maddox with the then comms chief Matthew Doyle.The pair discussed Maddox's reporting on WhatsApp after he published a story saying that Donald Trump is threatening to reject Lord Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador unless the British government accepts serious restrictions on his activities.Joe Middleton2 June 2026 07:47McFadden was 'having a b**** privately', says senior Labour MPPat McFadden should not be sacked for his comments about Keir Starmer, Dame Emily Thornberry has said.The senior Labour MP said the work and pensions minister was “having a b**** privately”.She told Sky News: “Whether it’s OK or not, it is the sort of thing human beings do. They complain about their bosses, they complain about decisions being made, they complain about when they don’t feel they’re being listened to.”Labour MP John McDonnell told Times Radio that Mr McFadden should consider resigning from the cabinet because he has been “disloyal” to the prime minister.Several damaging messages between Mr McFadden and Lord Mandelson were released, some of which had disparaged the prime minister.Joe Middleton2 June 2026 07:47Harriette Boucher2 June 2026 05:00Full story: Humiliation for Starmer as Mandelson files reveal government by WhatsAppThe prime minister is facing fresh humiliation after the latest tranche of Mandelson files was published on Monday, revealing both in-fighting among ministers and profound criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s administration.The publication of more than 1,000 pages of messages relating to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US reveals his damning opinion of the government, with the disgraced peer saying that the prime minister “lacks verve” and warning that his Downing Street operation is “beleaguered and bereft”.The release lays bare the extent to which government is conducted by WhatsApp and includes thousands of previously private messages exchanged between figures at the heart of government, revealing Lord Mandelson repeatedly offered unsolicited advice to ministers, derided colleagues and criticised the actions of the government.Lord Mandelson, however, apparently “declined to comply” with a request to hand over his personal phone and allow the government to publish WhatsApp messages and other information related to his appointment, the documents showed.Meanwhile, in a statement to the Commons, chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones confirmed that questions put to Lord Mandelson during the vetting process were being withheld at the request of the Metropolitan Police, among a huge amount of redactions.Harriette Boucher2 June 2026 04:00Harriette Boucher2 June 2026 03:00