THE killer of Thurrock teenager Henry Nowak has had his minimum jail term increased from 21 years to 25 years by the Court of Appeal.

Judges ruled the original sentence imposed on Vickrum Digwa was unduly lenient, and refused Digwa permission to appeal against it.

Digwa had sought permission to challenge the length of his sentence at the Court of Appeal but that was dismissed and judges ruled the original sentence was not sufficient.

Jonathan Polnay KC, for the Attorney General, had earlier argued that Digwa's 21-year minimum term was too lenient, citing his use of a large dagger, abusing the religious exemption to carry it, and his conduct as Henry lay dying

Imran Khan KC, for Digwa, argued his 21-year minimum term was too long, saying the judge counted overlapping aggravating factors more than once.

The Lady Chief Justice said the trial judge was entitled to start at 15 years, as he had found Digwa did not take the large kirpan to the scene intending to commit a crime.

But she said a "very significant uplift" was needed because of its use.

"The fact that the knife's initial carriage had been lawful does not reduce the seriousness of its subsequent unlawful use," she said.

Download our Nub News App!

- It’s FREE and available now
- Breaking news notifications
- Your Town in Your Pocket

The judges said that before aggravating and mitigating factors, his offending merited 23 years.

The aggravating factors, including filming Henry as he lay dying and his mother removing the weapon, took that to at least 27 years.

Mitigation brought it down to 25 years.