Policing could be driven back to the 1960s by false claims officers are biased against white people, the leader of Britain\u2019s black officers has said.<\/p>\n
Ch Insp Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, spoke out amid growing concerns that politicians such as Nigel Farage<\/a> were stoking tensions around the murder of teenager Henry Nowak by making baseless and provocative claims.<\/p>\n Senior figures in policing were among those who pushed back against his assertion that the handcuffing of Nowak by officers in Southampton<\/a> last December after he had been stabbed amounted to two-tier policing and a bias against white people.<\/p>\n They also denounced Farage for saying the response to the killing demanded \u201ccold rage\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer accused the Reform UK leader of ignoring the wishes of the dead teenager\u2019s family<\/a> and called the Reform leader\u2019s actions \u201cunforgivable\u201d.<\/p>\n Nowak\u2019s father, Mark, had condemned the \u201cinhumane and degrading\u201d treatment of his son by police.<\/p>\n But he added: \u201cWe do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Hampshire\u2019s chief constable, Alexis Boon, whose officers are under scrutiny over the way they dealt with the incident, on Wednesday apologised for the way Nowak had been arrested and handcuffed<\/a>. He added: \u201cI\u2019m so sorry you\u2019ve had to go through this.\u201d<\/p>\n Nigel Farage used a question in the Commons to claim the UK was \u2018living under two-tier policing\u2019, adding this had led to \u2018the anger that you saw spilling out in Southampton last night\u2019. Photograph: House of Commons\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The killing of Nowak, an 18-year-old university student, has sparked a nationwide debate about policing.<\/p>\n The teenager was stabbed last December by Vickrum Digwa, who falsely claimed he had been racially attacked by him.<\/p>\n In fact, Digwa had stabbed Nowak repeatedly, but officers arriving at the scene treated the student as a suspect. He was handcuffed and put under arrest, despite telling officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe.<\/p>\n The Guardian has learned that police chiefs have ordered a nationwide increase in intelligence gathering about potential violence believed to be linked to far-right protests, after 11 officers were injured in clashes in Southampton<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n George said bogus claims from politicians such as Farage and far-right activists that policing is biased against white people could set back efforts to end systemic, longstanding prejudice against black people.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThere is a danger of policing going back to a time long before Stephen Lawrence\u2019s murder, to the 1960s and 1970s, because of the attacks from the far right which have been growing over the past few years, and which are becoming more mainstream.\u201d<\/p>\n In the House of Lords, Doreen Lawrence, who fought police for justice after they failed her murdered son Stephen in 1993, said: \u201cMy condolences goes out to Henry Nowak\u2019s family. I think what\u2019s happened with him should never have happened. And the police should be at fault for what happened on that night,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Henry Nowak was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in December 2025. Photograph: Hampshire Police\/PA<\/p>\n Body cam footage of the student\u2019s final minutes is accepted by police sources to be \u201ctraumatic\u201d.<\/p>\n The incident is being investigated by policing watchdog the Independent Office for Police<\/a> Conduct.<\/p>\n Sir Andy Cooke, who stood down in April as chief inspector of constabulary, told the Guardian he found no evidence of anti-white bias during his time scrutinising all forces in England and Wales.<\/p>\n He said politicians such as Farage were trying to \u201cexploit\u201d the Nowak case \u201cto boost their political fortunes\u201d and worsen community tensions.<\/p>\n Cooke, who was appointed by the Conservatives and won praise from both main parties, said: \u201cThroughout my five years at the inspectorate, I found no evidence at all to support any claim there was an anti-white bias in operational policing.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time when there is disquiet in some communities, this is no time to play politics with community tensions, particularly off the back of such a distressing incident that caused so much pain to the family of Henry Nowak.<\/p>\n \u201cThis should be a period of time where politicians respect the family\u2019s wishes and do not try to exploit such a tragic and painful situation to boost their political fortunes.\u201d<\/p>\n His intervention came as Southampton recovered from violence after protests led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. That followed Farage\u2019s calls for \u201crage\u201d at how Nowak was treated by police.<\/p>\n He had been stabbed by Digwa after a dispute flared out of control, but officers were unaware how seriously he was injured, ignored his pleas he had been stabbed for about three minutes and handcuffed him.<\/p>\n One senior police source said police believed politicians were attempting \u201cto stoke up tensions for political gain\u201d, making clear they meant Farage and Robinson, as well as some Conservatives, and \u201cthey were reckless about whether their comments would lead to trouble on the streets\u201d.<\/p>\n Eleven officers were injured in clashes in Southampton on Tuesday. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster\/Getty Images<\/p>\n In the House of Commons Starmer and Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, warned against divisive rhetoric, and the prime minister condemned Farage for exploiting the tragedy for political gain.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a time for serious work, not rage,\u201d Starmer said, a response to Farage\u2019s call to respond to the case with \u201cpure, cold rage\u201d.<\/p>\n Farage used a question to claim the UK was \u201cliving under two-tier policing\u201d, saying this had led to \u201cthe anger that you saw spilling out in Southampton last night\u201d.<\/p>\n Starmer called the Reform UK leader\u2019s comments \u201cunforgivable\u201d and said: \u201cA grieving family have asked us not to respond in the way that the leader of Reform has responded \u2026 His response has been to appeal for rage \u2013 rage. That\u2019s his response to a father who has lost his son and asked for that not to happen. Exploiting this tragedy to create grievance and division would be wrong in any circumstances, but to do it when the family are expressly saying please don\u2019t is unforgivable. It shows exactly who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n Government and police are discussing a review of police promises on tackling racial bias against black people, however, ministers are convinced some of the wording is clumsy and open to attack.<\/p>\n