Watchdog to probe if officers who cuffed Henry Nowak were 'influenced by migrant hotel protests nearby'

A police watchdog is set to investigate whether the police who handcuffed Henry Nowak had been influenced by protests at a nearby asylum hotel.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is set to announce this week that the enquiry into Hampshire Police has expanded and will now consider whether officers had mistakenly treated Mr Nowak as a suspect of anti-immigration protests nearby.

The IOPC has spent six months examining the circumstances around the wrongful handcuffing of Mr Nowak after he was stabbed by Vickrum Digwa five times.

The Daily Mail has confirmed that the watchdog reaffirmed its decision not to investigate the conduct of the individual officers involved on the night, and use them as witnesses to their inquiry.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and Suella Braverman have both called for the arresting officers to face a full misconduct investigation, but that will not be the case.

The IOPC will consider Hampshire Police’s arrest of the victim, as well as the officers’ use of handcuffs and first aid.

However, the officers involved on the night in Southampton in December have not been served with any notice of investigation, as the probe is not considering individual wrongdoing.

The murder happened just a few minutes' walk away from Highfield House Hotel, where anti-migration protests have been taking place since May last year.

In the months leading up to the murder of Mr Nowak, tensions in the local area had been rising, with the arrest of two asylum seekers for the exposure and groping of women on the street.

Locals described a “climate of ongoing racial abuse” due to the anti-migrant protests at the hotel.

In September, police had launched an arson investigation after a flare had been launched through a ground-floor window.

In October, a rally ended in clashes between migrants and protestors outside the hotel.

Police have made five arrests in the area since protests began and issued five dispersal orders .

One of those orders was given just days before Mr Nowak’s murder, 500m away.

An IOPC spokesman said: “We have been updating our terms of reference following recent discussions with Henry's family.

“Once all concerned parties are notified we will be in a position to provide further information.”

The news comes just days after it was revealed that Hampshire Police tried to portray Mr Nowak as the aggressor against Digwa just three days after he was murdered.

An initial police statement, according to The Sunday Times, read: "It was reported two men had been assaulted by an unknown man."

A spokesman for Hampshire Police said: "Following the opening of the trial and the media reporting that followed, a significant amount of mis- and disinformation was circulating online.

"This included requests for information to be shared that had not been fully examined as part of the murder trial.

"The intention of the statement was to remind the public that there were ongoing legal proceedings and that the law is clear that nothing could be published which could prejudice the trial.

"The decision not to publish was taken following advice from the CPS."