Kevin Hollinrake has criticised British police, saying the response to Henry Nowak's fatal stabbing exposed an "obsession with racial discrimination" deep rooted within its culture.
Speaking to GB News, the Tory Party Chairman reflected on the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak and how the police responded to the incident.
Mr Nowak was stabbed five times by Digwa using a Sikh ceremonial knife, and when officers arrived at the scene he informed them of what had happened.
However, the officers instead listened to Digwa's claims that he had been subjected to racially motivated abuse, handcuffing the bleeding teenager before he lost consciousness and died at the scene.
Asked by GB News host Alex Armstrong if there should now be a "ban" on carrying religious knives in public, Mr Hollinrake argued that there are "other measures" that could be taken instead.
He said: "This is a terrible crime and is something we're looking into, but there are other measures you could take, such as the blunting of the Kirpan.
"I will say the vast majority of Sikhs do not carry out these kind of atrocities, so I think we need to look at this in a balanced way rather than knee-jerk reaction."
The Tory Chairman then criticised the police officers who responded to the incident, who acted on only the "allegations of racial abuse".
Kevin Hollinrake has criticised police conduct in the case of Henry Nowak
|GB NEWS
He said: "The other thing we need to look at in the context of this crime is how the police responded, why they handcuffed somebody who was in a terrible condition, a terrible state, on the basis some kind of allegations of some racial abuse.
"I think we want the police to be focused on solving crimes rather than obsessed by this racial discrimination that seems to override other really serious crimes."
Mr Hollinrake made clear that although there are "lessons to learn" about the carrying of religious knives, the police must also be fully focused on tackling real criminals.
He told GB News: "There are some lessons to learn from this around the Kirpan, but other things as well.
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Vickrum Digwa, 23, was found guilty at Southampton Crown Court of the murder of university student Henry Nowak | CPS"We want to show that our police force is fully, fully focused on tackling real crime and real criminals."
Issuing a public apology, Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France of Hampshire Constabulary said of Mr Nowak's death: "I’m sorry that Henry’s life couldn’t be saved that night, and I’m sorry that he was handcuffed and arrested in the moments before he lost consciousness.
"When his killer made that call to the police, and he called the police, not the ambulance service, he lied on that call. He lied when police attended the scene. He continued to lie as Henry’s condition deteriorated."
After the incident, Hampshire Police referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for investigation.
Mr Hollinrake told GB News that 'lessons must be learned' from Mr Nowak's murder
|GB NEWS
An IOPC spokesman said: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with Henry Nowak’s family and everyone affected by his death.
"We are independently investigating the contact Hampshire and Isle of Wight officers had with Mr Nowak prior to his death on December 4, including the use of handcuffs by officers and the first aid provided.
"Our investigation, which began following a mandatory referral from the force that we received the same day, remains ongoing and the officers involved are currently being treated as witnesses."
Digwa will sentenced today at Southhampton Crown Court for Mr Nowak's murder.