UK-based anti-racist and anti-fascist organization Stand Up to Racism has come under heavy fire after its activists disrupted a vigil held for Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old British university student stabbed by a Sikh man who was subsequently handcuffed by arriving police officers before collapsing and bleeding to death from his wounds in December 2025.
The vigil was organized by the right-wing anti-immigration group White Vanguard on Sunday, 31 May, outside Portswood Police Station in Southampton, three days after Southampton Crown Court found 23-year-old Vikrum Digwa guilty of the murder of Henry Nowak in one of the most politically controversial criminal cases in recent years.
Beyond the already questionable morality of disrupting a peaceful vigil, Stand Up to Racism further ignited outrage with a triumphant social media post stating that ‘we won’t let the far right divide our communities’, accompanied by a photograph of the protest. ‘Antiracists & antifascists outnumbering & outshouting fascist “White Vanguard” in Southampton,’ the organization wrote.
The incident became especially controversial because the peaceful demonstrators had planned to observe three minutes of silence, symbolizing the three minutes during which Nowak bled to death after being handcuffed by police officers, who believed the suspect’s claim that he had been racially abused rather than recognizing the victim’s visible injuries. Counter-protesters continued shouting and chanting throughout the period of silence.
The backlash was immediate. Users online argued that Stand Up to Racism had acted with disturbing disrespect towards Henry Nowak’s memory. ‘These people are evil scum, and we don’t hate the left nearly enough,’ X page London Voice wrote while reposting the original post.
‘Today, Stand Up to Racism have shown their ugly true colours,’ BRITAIN IS BROKEN wrote on X. ‘To oppose a group is fair enough; to do it at a vigil for a dead boy who was murdered, and to screech through the silence being observed for Henry, is beyond comprehension,’ the page added.
As outrage mounted, Stand Up to Racism restricted comments under its post. Founded in 2013, SUTR is one of Britain’s largest anti-racist and anti-fascist campaign groups. Although the organization presents itself as a broad coalition of trade unions, community organizations, and activists, it has longstanding links to the far-left Socialist Workers Party (SWP), with several senior figures—including co-convenor Weyman Bennett—having held prominent roles within the SWP.
On 28 May, Southampton Crown Court found 23-year-old Vikrum Digwa guilty of murdering Nowak and convicted his mother, Kiran Kaur, of assisting an offender by removing the murder weapon from the scene—a Sikh ceremonial knife commonly referred to as a kirpan or shastar.
Prosecutors stated that Digwa stabbed the 18-year-old accountancy student five times with the ceremonial blade before pursuing the wounded teenager through the streets. The case triggered nationwide outrage after trial proceedings revealed that officers handcuffed the visibly bleeding Nowak after Digwa falsely accused him of racial abuse.
‘Public pressure is increasingly mounting to hold the police officers involved accountable’
Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC described the allegation as a ‘wicked lie about a dying man’, arguing that Digwa used accusations of racism as a ‘trump card’ to divert suspicion from himself. Following the verdict, Hampshire Police apologized for arresting the victim, while the Independent Office for Police Conduct launched an investigation into the police response.
Following the verdict in Henry Nowak’s trial, two parallel public debates appear to be emerging from the case. Activism has already begun surrounding legislation granting Sikhs religious exemptions, allowing them to carry ceremonial knives in public, with many critics arguing such exemptions should be abolished entirely. At the same time, public pressure is increasingly mounting to hold the police officers involved accountable, with many figures—including US billionaire Elon Musk—demanding the release of the body-camera footage used as evidence during the trial.
Related articles:
At a time when public debate is increasingly polarized and superficial, Hungarian Conservative remains committed to depth, intellectual honesty, and independent conservative thought.
Producing high-quality journalism requires resources. Your contribution helps us expand our coverage, reach new audiences, and keep our content accessible.
Please consider supporting our mission.
