The case of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, who was handcuffed by police as he lay dying after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in the southern city of Southampton in December, has become highly politicised in the UK.Digwa, 23, lied and told police he was the victim and that Nowak had racially insulted him.The UK prime minister met Nowak's mother, father and stepmother at Downing Street late Thursday for about an hour.Afterwards, Starmer said the country must "choose unity and progress over division and hatred", calling this "the only way to honour Henry's memory".Far-right figures have claimed the murder is evidence that police forces in Britain treat white people and ethnic minorities differently -- an allegation Starmer's Labour government and police chiefs vehemently deny.Musk, the billionaire owner of X, has posted numerous times on the platform about the police response to the stabbing.In one, he falsely asked whether people knew that "official police policy requires them to be racist against Whites?"'No justification'
The father of Henry Nowak leaves 10 Downing Street in London after meeting the prime minister © Henry NICHOLLS / AFP
Black people in England and Wales are more than twice as likely to be arrested as white people, according to government statistics.And an independent report last year found Britain's largest police force, London's Metropolitan Police, was "institutionally racist".Musk has offered to fund a private prosecution against the police over its handling of the murder and insulted the Hampshire Police force involved."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," Starmer told reporters.
