THURROCK MP Jen Craft delivered a plea for calm and restraint in the wake of an emotional day when the full and harrowing story of the death of her young constituent Henry Nowak was told in court.

Police were condemned after Henry's killer was given a life sentence, prompting an apology from Hampshire's deputy chief constable. Shocking video footage was also released by the crown prosecution service.

Henry, 18, from Chafford Hundred, died following a street attack during his first term at the University of Southampton, where he was studying accountancy.

The case has drawn national attention over serious questions about the police response.

Officers who arrived at the scene handcuffed Henry, after his killer falsely claimed to be the victim of a racist assault. Body cam footage shows an officer responding to the incident, turning Harry over and handcuffing him as the teenager asked for help, saying he had been stabbed and 'could not breathe'.

An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct is under way into whether those officer actions delayed vital medical care.

Henry had been fatally stabbed with a Sikh ceremonial kirpan knife by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, who had falsely told police in a 999 call that he had been the victim of a racist attack by Henry.

At Southampton Crown Court on Monday (1 June) Digwa was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years. His mother was also sentenced for hiding the murder weapon in their house when police arrived.

Judge William Mousley told Southampton Crown Court he was sure that Nowak had not said anything racist to the Sikh man who killed him. And before sentencing Digwa, he told him his actions had "stirred up racial tension in Southampton and across the country."

Outside the court, Henry's father Mark, accompanied by his wife Lucy and Henry's sister Olivia, spoke of the impact of the young man's death on his family and his disappointment with police actions. He was universally praised for the calm manner in which he delivered a speech and a call for

"Henry did not die with dignity. He did not die with the care he deserved. He lost consciousness before anyone believed him.

"Let me be absolutely clear – we hold Vickrum Digwa solely and 100 per cent responsible for the brutal murder of our son. But Henry should not have died on the streets of Southampton in police custody. The way he was treated was inhumane and degrading.

"His murderer, however, was afforded decency. He was believed. He was not handcuffed when arrested. He was not handcuffed when transported to the police station.

"As far as we understand, he was never handcuffed at all.

"And, as Vickrum Digwa himself told the court, while under arrest for Henry's murder, police even took him to the kitchen so he could choose his food. The contrast is unbearable."

However, Mr Nowak said despite the 'shocking actions' of the police on the 'fateful night' Henry died, his family wanted to express their 'heartfelt gratitude' to the murder investigation team.

"They secured justice for our son and for that our family will be forever grateful," he added.

He said the government needed to invest in knife crime prevention and that there needed to be "stronger action on the sale, ownership and carrying of all knives".

"We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension.

"We want his story to make out streets safer for everyone."

The day after the emotional scenes in Southampton, Thurrock MP Mrs Craft, who spoke in Westminster shortly after Henry's death last year, returned to the Commons to speak about the trial, Henry and his family and her hopes for the future.

The full transcript of Mrs Craft's speech is below:-

"Last December, Henry, aged just 18, was a first-year university student with his life ahead of him. He was kind, hard-working and loved by his family and friends. His murder, at the hands of Vickrum Digwa, was a horrifying act. Digwa murdered Henry and then lied about him as he lay dying, falsely accusing him of racism. It was an evil act.

"I know that the thoughts of the whole House will now be with Henry's family and friends, just as mine are. What they have been through is heartbreaking and, for most of us, unimaginable. I know that nothing can take their pain and loss away, but yesterday we saw some measure of justice. Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment.

"He will serve a minimum term of 21 years. His mother, Kiran Kaur, has been convicted of assisting an offender. She is due to be sentenced on 17 July. The Crown Prosecution Service has today authorised further charges against other members of the attacker's family.

"With further sentencing and possible charges pending, we must be cautious still in what we say about this case so that we do not place any proceedings at risk. However, I can and must pay tribute today to the dignified and powerful words of the Nowak family in the statement they gave after yesterday's sentencing. They deserve answers, in particular about what happened on that awful night and the actions of the police officers who arrived on the scene.

"I expect many in this House, and many more across this country, have now seen the police officer's bodycam footage, which was released last night. It is, without question, a disturbing and tragic thing to see. People are rightly asking questions about how the situation was handled. They are shocked and disquieted to hear Henry's words, "I can't breathe."

"I know that it is difficult to wait any longer for answers, but there is a proper process for assessing whether there have been incidents of police misconduct, led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. It will determine what could and should have been done differently, and it will determine what action may need to be taken against individual officers.

"The family yesterday called on me 'to ensure the IOPC has the resources, authority and independence it needs to conduct a full, fearless and transparent investigation.'

"I can confirm today that I will do so. The IOPC will be equipped and encouraged to act; to find the truth; and to ensure, if necessary, that there are consequences.

"There have been accusations, I know, of two-tier policing, and that one community has been prioritised over another. It will be for the IOPC to determine the facts in this case—I cannot and will not comment on them — but let me say this on the question of preferential treatment more widely: the police in this country have a sacred duty to police without fear or favour. Everyone in this country is equal before the law; it is the promise upon which our whole justice system rests. The equality of every citizen is the foundation on which the openness, tolerance and generosity of this country rests.

"Let me also be clear about one other thing — a dangerous undercurrent that I have seen in the reaction to this awful crime. Threats against police officers are utterly unacceptable. There can be no justification for intimidation, abuse or attempts to take the law into one's own hands.

"A police officer unrelated to this case has been misidentified online and subjected to death threats. He has been forced to relocate, to protect himself and his family. Misinformation and inflammatory commentary is making a dreadful situation even worse. We must all, together, condemn it. We must also allow the facts to be established through the appropriate investigations and the courts, and we must do so calmly and responsibly.

"The Nowak family, and Henry's memory, deserve answers. The family have also called on us all to take action to address the daily tragedy of knife crime in this country. This Government is committed to halving knife crime in this decade.

"Since the start of this Parliament, we have made progress. Knife crime has fallen by 10%. Knife homicides are down 27%, and are at their lowest level in a decade, but clearly we must do more while there are still tragedies like this one. For that reason, we have recently published our halving knife crime plan. It sets out how we will go further to drive sustained reductions in violence. It brings together action across Government and society to stop people turning to knife crime, and to ensure that perpetrators are caught and brought to justice. It includes a range of measures.

"It will see schools and families supported to address the root causes of knife crime through the establishment of 50 young futures hubs; police using new crime mapping tools to target enforcement more precisely, and making better use of stop and search; and cruel and exploitative drug gangs stopped from criminally exploiting children, which will prevent the knife violence that is driven by the county lines trade.

"On knife controls, there have been calls to limit the right of Sikhs to carry their ceremonial knife, the kirpan, one of the five holy items in their faith. The Offensive Weapons Act 2019, passed under the previous Government, clarified and strengthened existing legal protections in relation to long kirpans. This included extending defences, so that kirpans can be lawfully possessed for religious reasons and used in religious and ceremonial contexts, but let me be clear: carrying the knife for the purpose of religious observance is one thing, but using it, as so tragically occurred in this case, is quite another. It is a vile act, a crime of the utmost severity, and it will be met with the severest punishment.

"Yesterday, the Nowak family ended their statement with a powerful call to us all: they did not want Henry's death "to be used to create further division, hatred or tension."

"They quoted the words of the prosecuting lawyer:

"This is not a case about Sikhism. This is not a case about racism. This is a case about murder. "

"I echo those words. We cannot allow this murder to turn communities against one another. We must condemn those who seek personal political profit from tragedy. Instead, we must show who we really are in this country.

"This was a murder—a vile and violent crime. The punishment must be reserved for those who are responsible for the act. We do not believe in collective punishment in this country. Instead, we stand together against an act of pure evil. We condemn those who committed this heinous crime, not all those who share their faith or ethnicity.

"Yesterday, a sentence was handed down in court. I know it will never be enough. The loss felt by Henry Nowak's family and friends will last forever. A wonderful young man will never enjoy the promise of the life that stretched out before him. The evil acts of his murderer and accomplice will never be undone, but we can choose to use this moment to pursue positive change. We are still limited in what we can say—there is a sentence to be handed down, further charges may follow, and an IOPC investigation is ongoing—but I call on everyone here to be responsible in this moment, and to allow justice to run its full course. While we must be limited in what we can say, we must not be limited in how we act.

"I will end with the words of the Nowak family, once more. Last night, they wrote that 'no other family should experience the heartbreak and horror of losing a child to knife crime.'

"Let that be the challenge to us all, across this House, across Government and across society. It is the very least we can do to honour the memory of Henry Nowak."

However, there was also anger and and a raft of cross party accusations after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage spoke in Westminster, talking about his belief there is two-tier policing in the UK. He was accused of trying to exploit a family's grief for political gain by Prime Minsier Sir Keir Starmer.