Not about Sikhism: UK MPs in renewed appeal over offensive weapon murder

The murder conviction of a British Sikh man who attempted a religious defence for the weapon he used to stab a teenager to death continues to cause tensions in the UK, with Downing Street and parliamentarians among those renewing appeals on Saturday.

Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced to life imprisonment after a jury found him guilty of stabbing 18-year-old Henry Nowak to death.

While British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson condemned “people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets” following the conviction, British Sikh MPs issued a joint statement to stress that the murder was “not about Sikhism.

“The Downing Street intervention followed US Vice President JD Vance’s social media re-post of a video depicting police body-worn camera footage that showed the victim being handcuffed by police over Digwa’s racism allegations in his final moments during the attack last December. Vance’s post blamed the “mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it” for the murder. “The Nowak family are grieving after Henry’s horrific murder.

They have said they do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We should be respecting their wishes,” Starmer’s spokesperson said, alluding to the post.