Nowak family say Henry would have hated riots and accuse politicians of playing games

Henry Nowak's family have said he would have hated the riots that followed his death and accused some politicians of playing games with his murder. In an interview with ITV's UK editor Paul Brand for the ITV Tonight documentary Dear Henry, Our Fight For Justice, Henry's father Mark Nowak said he had lost his son and was not interested in any political game. The family also rejected suggestions that Henry's death should be linked to claims about a two-tier police response. ITV reported that the family wanted accountability from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, or IOPC.

The 18-year-old student was walking home from a night out in Southampton last December when he encountered Vikram Digwa. ITV reported that Digwa, 23, snatched Henry's phone as he was recording and stabbed him five times. Digwa was convicted of murder in May. Bodycam footage showed officers handcuffing Henry and placing him under arrest rather than treating him as a victim. Henry told police nine times that he could not breathe and that he had been stabbed, ITV reported. The family said police first told them officers had administered first aid, before later saying Henry had been handcuffed and arrested.

The family did not see that footage until the first day of the trial at Southampton Crown Court. Before then, the IOPC had written to them on 10 April saying no concerns had been identified with officers' actions or decisions that night and that no officers would face conduct or criminal investigation. The family said the sequence left them feeling hoodwinked and manipulated. Mark Nowak said: "I fear that we may have been manipulated in our darkest hours," adding that some decisions appeared to protect the police and their reputation rather than help the family.

Hampshire Police has since admitted for the first time that the force failed Henry. ITV reported the force said it was "incredibly sorry that in Henry's final moments, when he needed us most, we failed him". After the footage became public following the trial, the IOPC expanded its investigation. It said it was committed to establishing the full circumstances, including whether officers should face disciplinary proceedings. Alex Chalk, a former Conservative MP and former justice minister, is leading a government review into the case. He said the family's sense of abandonment caused him real concern and that he would follow the evidence without fear or favour.

The case has also become entangled in politics. ITV reported that the Home Secretary said the IOPC does good work every day, though questions about it needed to be scrutinised properly. The Nowak family said they did not have confidence in the watchdog. ITV News at Ten asked whether the IOPC was fit for purpose, noting past criticism over Hillsborough, the Stephen Port investigation and the Nottingham attacks. ITV reported that Barnaby Webber's mother had reached out to the Nowak family.