Tory leader Kemi Badenoch calls for review of police response to Henry Nowak's murder

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called for a rapid review into the circumstances surrounding Henry Nowak's murder.

In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, Ms Badenoch said a review was needed to restore the public's confidence and faith in the police following the case, which sparked violence on the streets of Southampton earlier this week.

Mr Nowak, 18, was handcuffed by police after being stabbed, despite telling officers about his injuries.

His murderer, Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed he had been racist towards him.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating Hampshire police's response in Mr Nowak's case - but Ms Badenoch argued a government review could provide answers more quickly.

She wrote: "An independent rapid review into the circumstances surrounding Henry's death, including the police response, the subsequent decision-making, and the role of the IOPC would be the best means of ensuring that confidence in policing and the wider system of accountability is maintained.

"It would secure an objective account of events, examine any failings, provide clarity for Henry's family, answer legitimate public concerns, and demonstrate that no institution is beyond scrutiny when public trust is at stake.

"Such a review would be capable of delivering answers within a few months, while remaining independent of Hampshire police and the IOPC itself."

Ms Badenoch added: "Crucially, it would be able to examine the entire chain of events and decision-making, including questions that fall outside the IOPC's own investigation."

Police bodycam footage showed Mr Nowak lying on the ground, handcuffed, pleading for the police to help him after he was stabbed.

Sir Keir has said the footage was "harrowing", adding: "I have to say, as a father of a 17-year-old boy, I felt sick watching it."

The case has sparked a political row in Britain and across the Atlantic.

US vice president JD Vance called for "righteous anger" and blamed Mr Nowak's murder on "the mass invasion of migrants".

Mr Vance made the comments on X after the US state department also commented on the case, saying "two-tiered policing" must be rejected in the West.

He claimed Mr Nowak would "still be alive today...if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it".

"Henry was far from the first to so needlessly lose his life, and I fear he won't be the last," he added.

"Each time a life like his is lost, the proper response - the only response - is righteous anger."

Number 10 hit back, accusing people of "seeking to stir up division on our streets".

The Prime Minister's office added: "The Nowak family are grieving after Henry's horrific murder. They have said they do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We should be respecting their wishes.

"Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible of circumstances.

"That is who we are as a country."

(c) Sky News 2026: Tory leader Kemi Badenoch calls for review of police response to Henry Nowak's murder