Three more charged with Henry Nowak protests violence as police release update

Three more people have been charged with violent disorder after protests in Southampton earlier this week following the murder of Henry Nowak.

Connor Bishop, 24, of Oxford Street, Southampton, Reece Robinson, 21, of Soberton Road, Havant, and Noah Etherington, 18, of Rowbury Road, Havant, will appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning, Hampshire Police said. The charges come in the wake of protests following the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa, 23, to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 21 years for the murder of 18-year-old Mr Nowak in December.

Anger erupted after police body-worn video was released showing Mr Nowak being placed in handcuffs moments before he became unconscious and subsequently died.

The treatment of the 18-year-old triggered a political row, with the Prime Minister urging politicians to heed the teenager’s relatives’ calls not to use the case “to cause disturbances”.

Violent protests erupted near where the student was fatally stabbed, after Digwa claimed he had been the victim of a racial attack, while Mr Nowak was handcuffed by police who ignored his pleas that he could not breathe as he lay dying.

Daniel Frost, 44, of Southampton, pleaded guilty on Thursday to violent disorder and possessing a dog lead with a metal carabiner as an offensive weapon following the protests.

A second man, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.

Sir Keir Starmer met with Mr Nowak’s family on Thursday, saying he was “profoundly humbled” to have had a private conversation with them in Downing Street.

He urged the nation to choose unity over hatred, adding that Mr Nowak “deserves a legacy that goes beyond this awful tragedy”.