Henry Nowak's killer has life sentence INCREASED after failed bid to cut it

Vickrum Digwa, who murdered Henry Nowak, has had his prison sentence increased after the Court of Appeal ruled it was “unduly lenient”. Digwa will now serve 25 years behind bars after he tried to appeal his original 21-year sentence. He had attempted to argue that the initial sentence was “manifestly excessive”. Henry Nowak, 18, was stabbed multiple times by Digwa in Southampton on December 3 last year, who then lied to the police, claiming that his victim had racially abused him. Henry's family welcomed the court’s descsion, saying they had been dealt a “life sentence of grief” by Digwa’s actions. During the hearing, the Court of Appeal was told that Digwa “repeatedly deployed” a knife against an “unarmed and defenceless stranger”. In written submissions on behalf of the Attorney General, Jonathan Polnay KC said that Digwa “abused the privilege” afforded to Sikhs to carry a knife in a public place for religious reasons. He said: “The offender was carrying a substantial bladed weapon in public, immediately available for use, which he repeatedly deployed against an unarmed and defenceless stranger. “He abused a statutory religious exemption permitting him to carry that weapon.” “There were significant additional aggravating factors: the offender’s sustained attempts to pervert the course of justice, his false allegation of racism against the deceased, his procurement of his mother’s assistance in concealing evidence, his degradation of the dying victim by filming him, and his conduct in misleading responders.” “The minimum term imposed failed adequately to reflect the combined weight of those features,” Mr Polany wrote. Henry's stepmother Katie said Digwa's attempted, and now failed, appeal "just doesn't feel fair to us". LATEST DEVELOPMENTS "It's another process that we've got to go through. It's another fight that we have to have. "It was a very clear verdict. It's not right that he's allowed to do this,” she told ITV News. Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, may still be released as early as December, having served less than half of her three years behind bars. Kaur received the sentence for disposing of the weapon used to kill Henry in the aftermath of the crime. Henry's mother, Lucy Ross, described Kaur's potential release as “particularly cruel”. “As soon as she gets out, she could arrange a visiting order to go see (Digwa). “She's lucky enough that she could go and see her boy. I have to go to Henry's grave to see Henry,” Ms Ross said. Henry's father, Mark Nowak, branded her potential release “an absolute disgrace”. “She'll be out for Christmas, and I won't have Christmas with Henry.” Last month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced she will launch an independent review into Henry's murder. GB News understands the first phase of the independent review will consider the treatment given to the Nowak family by agencies across the criminal justice system following Henry’s death. The second phase will follow a separate probe conducted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct into the actions of police officers who attended the scene. Follow related topics: