Growth Before Rights, Police Failure Under Scrutiny

Henry Nowak told police nine times that he couldn’t breathe and had been stabbed, his mother said. Officers handcuffed him as he lay dying, after his attacker falsely accused him of racial abuse. The family’s account, aired in an ITV Tonight documentary, has put police conduct and the state’s response under scrutiny. A separate Jersey dispute asks whether workers’ rights should give way to economic growth.

Growth, With Conditions

On Thursday, Nov. 5, Jersey Economic Development Minister Deputy Gerald Voisin said on BBC Radio Jersey that workers’ rights might have to take second place if they came at the cost of economic growth. His remarks followed a meeting with business leaders. “We're going to have to make some difficult decisions, and we're going to have to make decisions that [...] some people may feel hinders other objectives, for example, workers' rights,” he said.

Voisin added: “I mean, it's very nice to be able to give workers greater rights, but if it's doing that at the cost of economic growth, then I think it has to take second place for the time being.” His words framed employment protections as part of a calculation about growth and new regulation.

Voisin later said the BBC had reported his remarks “without proper context.” He said he wasn’t proposing a reduction in existing rights, and that “economic growth should never come at the expense of workers' rights.” Jersey, he argued, had lacked growth in recent years; regulation should help businesses grow and employ more people while keeping workers protected and treated fairly.

Deputy Montfort Tadier, the co-leader for Reform Jersey, told ITV News there was a “clear ideology” coming from a “minority group which has captured this government.” He criticized what he called an “unnecessarily divisive” narrative. In August 2026, Voisin drew criticism after saying the minimum wage was “strangling the economy.” Senator Lyndon Farnham, the Chief Minister, said those comments didn’t reflect government policy and that he would expect a resignation if Voisin raised them again. ITV News said Farnham didn’t respond to its latest request for comment.

Police Apology, Questions Remain

Vickrum Digwa fatally stabbed Nowak, an 18-year-old university student, in Southampton on Dec. 3 last year. On Thursday, the Court of Appeal raised Digwa’s minimum term from 21 years to 25 years, ruling the original sentence “unduly lenient.” At the sentencing hearing in June, Judge William Mousley KC said Digwa carried a small knife called a kirpan, which the report described as a strict Sikh religious requirement, and a “large dagger in a sheath” measuring 21cm.

Nowak’s father, Mark Nowak, urged the Government to clarify the law on kirpans. “I fully understand the need to carry a kirpan, but surely that should be defined in law in terms of size and type and whether it should be visible and so on and so forth,” he said. “And therefore anything else should be made illegal.” He said he didn’t want a change to infringe on religious freedoms, but ambiguity left officers unsure “when to act and when not to act.” The Home Office said it continued discussions with Sikh stakeholders and police about the law on carrying knives in public and the religious reasons defence.

Lucy Ross asked why police handcuffed her son but not the killer. Mark Nowak called the officers’ interaction with his son “inexcusable.” Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “We are incredibly sorry that in Henry's final moments, when he needed us most, we failed him.” The force said the family had “rightly raised serious concerns” and that it was cooperating with reviews and investigations.

A Family Still Seeking Answers

Katie Nowak said the family first watched video of Henry’s final exchange with police on the first day of Digwa’s trial. They had hoped Digwa might plead guilty, she said, in which case “the truth may never have come out.” She added: “I do feel that we have been failed multiple times.” The family questioned whether people had made decisions to protect the police force’s reputation.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it couldn’t share sensitive evidence with the family until the case was trial-ready, to avoid risking prejudice to proceedings. It said it had discussed this with them. The Independent Office for Police Conduct said its investigation into potential failures in the police response was expected to conclude early next year. In July, it announced that two officers were under investigation for potential gross misconduct. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood commissioned former lord chancellor Alex Chalk to lead an independent review examining whether there were “any missed opportunities to intervene.”

After the sentence increased, the family said they faced a “life sentence of grief” and that their “fight for justice is far from over.” In the weeks after Nowak’s death, protesters called for people to attend demonstrations in Southampton on social media. They included leaders of Ukip and Britain First, the Portsmouth branch of the National Rebirth Party and others. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for “pure cold rage” and demanded an end to what he described as “two-tier policing.” Ross told ITV she was “not interested in your political game” and believed some people had tried to use her son’s death to advance wider political arguments.