Rioting broke out on Tuesday night as hundreds gathered outside Southampton police station to protest the murder of Henry Nowak, who died in police custody in December. The crowd outside the police station was addressed by far-right figures who claimed institutional racism against white people from the police was to blame for the death of Nowak, who was studying accounting at the University of Southampton. Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, told the crowd: “If Henry wasn’t white, he wouldn’t have been handcuffed.” Footage shows protesters throwing traffic cones, bins and stones at police officers wearing riot gear. One officer narrowly avoided being hit by an e-scooter which had been thrown from a height, according to one report. Protesters carried signs bearing the name Henry Nowak. Hampshire police said that 11 officers had been hurt in the rioting. Two arrests have been made with more to follow, police said. Nowak was stabbed to death by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa. Digwa falsely told the police that Nowak had racially abused him. Bodycam footage from the night of Nowak’s death shows he told officers, “I can’t breathe” at least seven times and was ignored. After Digwa was jailed, Nowak’s father, Mark Nowak, said the family did not want the death of their 18-year-old son “to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone.” However, political figures including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and shadow home secretary Chris Philp have ignored this and used Nowak’s death to claim that there is a “two-tier” policing system.

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