On 3rd June 2026, the Bishop of Leicester asked a question on government commitments to tackling knife crime and expressed solidarity with the Sikh community in response to a government statement on the recent unrest following the murder of Henry Nowak in Southampton:
The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, my thoughts and prayers are also with the family and friends of Henry Nowak in their grief and suffering. Like many others, I echo the courageous words of Henry’s father in his powerful call that his son’s death should not,
“be used to create further division, hatred or tension”.
Sadly, there has been a lot of misinformation spread around this appalling crime. Some have not heeded the call from Henry’s father, which is incredibly disrespectful. I am sure that all noble Lords would call on people to respect his words and to work for peace in their local communities.
I am also deeply saddened that some have targeted Sikh communities as a result of this terrible crime. Along with my fellow Lords spiritual, I stand firmly with Sikh leaders who have made it very clear that, whatever the words used by the murderer, and whatever the words used by his lawyers, faith was not a factor in this crime. I refer noble Lords to the words of Professor Jagbir Jhutti-Johal, an expert in Sikh theology, who stated clearly that the knife used in this crime was categorically not a kirpan, as others have said. The perpetrator was carrying a much larger knife. My hope, therefore, is that we will focus on the societal problem of knife crime. Will the Minister reaffirm the Government’s commitments both to tackling knife crime and to tackling misinformation about faith communities?
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab, Home Office): The right reverend Prelate is absolutely right, and I welcome his support for the Sikh community and for the way in which he has expressed it. As I mentioned in my initial comments, I also very much respect the words of the Nowak family. Everyone should respect these words, and those who have called for action, or for rage, or for other measures as a result, should reflect carefully on what the family have said.
A murder by a knife is 100% a murder for the individual and for their family. The Government are continuing to look at what we can do to halve knife crime. We have put £66 million into the violence reduction unit and £26 million into knife crime concentrations fund. We are providing financial support to tackle county lines, and we are strengthening legislation on the possession of offensive weapons as a whole, as we have done through the Crime and Policing Act. To the right reverend Prelate and the House, I say that recorded knife crime in the past 18 months has fallen by 10%, hospital admissions for stabbings have fallen by 13%, knife-enabled assaults have decreased by 10% and knife homicides are down overall by 27%, their lowest figure in a decade. As I have said, however, knife homicides represent a 100% murder for the family of an individual. These reductions do not take away the pain of yesterday’s verdict, but they show that the Government are trying to address this issue and the trend, thankfully, is a downwards one.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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