What Henry Nowak's murder means for policing
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 5 June 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In December 2025, 18 year-old Henry Nowak was stabbed in the street. This week, his murderer Vickrum Digwa was given a life sentence. The case has ignited a debate about whether so-called 'two-tier policing' exists in the UK. So where does this leave our police forces?
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Guests:
- Matt Dathan, home affairs editor, The Times.
- Chris Hobbs, retired police officer.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Producers: Olivia Case, Colette Fountain, Sophie McNulty.
We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com
Read more: What happened to Henry Nowak? How the Southampton case unfolded
Further listening: Makerfield: the by-election which could decide the next election.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From the Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story. |
| 0:06.1 | I'm Manvun Rana. |
| 0:11.8 | It's December 3, 2025. |
| 0:15.6 | A 9-99 call is made, asking for the police. |
| 0:20.0 | Sorry, we just got attack racially by some white person. |
| 0:22.6 | Right, okay. Whereabouts are you? |
| 0:24.6 | We're on Belmont Road. |
| 0:26.6 | Just down in the street, are you? |
| 0:28.6 | Yeah, literally. I just parked on my car to come home and he attacked my brother. |
| 0:32.6 | You're talking about verbally or physically? |
| 0:34.6 | No, no, he's physically attacked my brother. We're sicked. |
| 0:39.4 | We wear turban and he's just type my brother. |
| 0:43.7 | Two men are on the line from a street in Southampton. |
| 0:45.2 | Was he racially abusive? |
| 0:46.2 | The police needs a report. |
| 0:46.5 | Come here. |
| 0:47.2 | Yeah, he would. |
| 0:53.5 | Something has clearly gone very wrong. |
| 0:55.2 | Now he's lying on the floor. |
| 0:57.3 | He was trying to get away. |
| 0:58.9 | He jumped over some bins and stuff. |
| 1:01.1 | I think he needs medical attention. |
... |
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