Britain was shocked by footage of the death of a student: the police handcuffed the wounded young man

A scandal broke out in the UK after the publication of a video of the last minutes of the life of an 18-year-old student Henry Novakwho died in December 2025 in Southampton.

Footage released by British police on the day of a murderer’s sentencing has sparked a wave of criticism of law enforcement and a new debate about police treatment of white Britons.

As reported BBC and other British media, Novak was returning home after a party when he had a conflict with a Sikh man on the street. According to investigators, during a short argument, he pulled out a knife with a blade of about 21 centimeters and inflicted a fatal wound on the student.

However, it was not only the murder itself that caused public outcry, but also the actions of the police after arriving at the scene.

The footage shows that the police, who responded to a call to a house in Southampton, first communicate with a Sikh man who calls himself the victim, and then approach Novak lying on the ground, try to ask him a few questions, and then put a… pic.twitter.com/e4d4cUVXMx

— Athens News (@russianathens) June 2, 2026

The released footage shows officers initially speaking to a Sikh man who claims to be the victim. After this, the police approach Novak, who is lying on the ground.

The student repeats several times: “I can’t breathe” and tries to explain that he was stabbed. In response, one of the officers says: “I don’t think you got hit, buddy.”.

After this, the wounded young man is handcuffed.

? NEW: Henry Nowak’s killer was arrested in 2023 on suspicion of stealing £1,000 worth of ceremonial knives from a Sikh temple

He was later released without charge pic.twitter.com/0ZHSRzt51Z

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) June 2, 2026

Henry Novak’s killer was arrested in 2023 on suspicion of stealing £1,000 worth of ceremonial knives from a Sikh temple. He was later released without charge.

Novak later died.

In right-wing conservative circles this case is already being called “Floyd in reverse”. The comparison does not mean a complete coincidence of circumstances, but the political symbolism is obvious: the young man says “I can’t breathe”reports that he was stabbed, but the police initially perceive him not as a victim, but as a suspect.

Political explosion

After the video was published, the party leader Reform UK Nigel Farage stated that the incident indicates “real racism against white British people”.

Right-wing conservative circles in Britain are already drawing parallels between Novak’s death and the case George Floyd in the United States, after which mass protests swept the country in 2020.

? WATCH: Police come under attack at protest in Southampton over the arrest of Henry Nowak

Credit: Ay_audits on YouTube pic.twitter.com/M77ZTtTVwH

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) June 2, 2026

Police came under attack at a protest in Southampton over the arrest of Henry Novak.

Police critics say officers essentially believed the armed assailant’s word and ignored the bleeding student’s condition.

The case has already sparked a new wave of debate about ideology, migration, double standards and a crisis of confidence in British law enforcement.

The British police have not yet admitted mistakes in the actions of the officers, but pressure on the authorities continues to grow. The country is demanding a full investigation into the behavior of the employees who arrived at the scene of the tragedy. The irony of modern Europe is that the state, endlessly lecturing the world about human rights, is now itself trying to explain why a man with a stab wound ended up in handcuffs before he received help.

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