New details have emerged about the handling of the investigation into the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, with reports claiming Hampshire Police initially drafted a public statement that suggested he had assaulted two men before he was fatally stabbed.
According to The Sunday Times, a proposed statement issued three days after the killing said: “It was reported two men had been assaulted by an unknown man.” The wording reportedly alarmed Henry’s family, who feared authorities were creating a misleading impression that their son had been the aggressor. The statement was later amended following objections from the family, with a subsequent version referring only to an “altercation.”
GB News said the report also claims police considered releasing a statement during the murder trial to address what they viewed as “misinformation” circulating online.
The proposed announcement would have outlined legal restrictions surrounding the case and warned against publishing material that could prejudice proceedings. However, prosecutors reportedly cautioned that any intervention could jeopardise the trial, leading police to abandon the plan.
Further scrutiny has fallen on the arrest of convicted killer Vickrum Digwa after reports that officers neither handcuffed him nor removed a Sikh ceremonial dagger he was carrying when he was taken into custody. The blade was allegedly only discovered and removed during a search at the police station before Digwa was placed in a cell.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said prosecutors stressed the importance of protecting the integrity of the trial and warned against discussing evidence before it had been examined in court, while noting that publishing any statement remained an operational decision for police. Hampshire Police said the intention of the abandoned statement was to remind the public that legal proceedings were ongoing and that publishing material capable of influencing the trial could breach the law.
