Police chief warns anti-white bias claims could drive UK policing ‘back to 60s’

Police clash with protesters in Southampton. The killing of Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old university student, has sparked a nationwide debate about policing. Photograph: Christopher Walls/SOPA Images/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen Police clash with protesters in Southampton. The killing of Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old university student, has sparked a nationwide debate about policing. Photograph: Christopher Walls/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Police chief warns anti-white bias claims could drive UK policing ‘back to 60s’ Senior police figures are pushing back against politicians they accuse of stoking tensions over Henry Novak’s murder Policing could be driven back to the 1960s by false claims officers are biased against white people, the leader of Britain’s black officers has said. Ch Insp Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, spoke out amid growing concerns that politicians such as Nigel Farage were stoking tensions around the murder of teenager Henry Nowak by making baseless and provocative claims. Senior figures in policing were among those who pushed back against his assertion that the handcuffing of Nowak by officers in Southampton last December after he had been stabbed amounted to two-tier policing and a bias against white people. They also denounced Farage for saying the response to the killing demanded “cold rage” . Keir Starmer condemns riots in Southampton after Henry Nowak murder Read more Keir Starmer accused the Reform UK leader of ignoring the wishes of the dead teenager’s family and called the Reform leader’s actions “unforgivable”. Nowak’s father Mark had condemned the “inhumane and degrading” treatment of his son by police. But he added: “We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone.” Hampshire’s chief constable Alexis Boon, whose officers are under scrutiny over the way they dealt with the incident, on Wednesday apologised for the way Nowak had been arrested and handcuffed . He added: “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this.” View image in fullscreen Nigel Farage used a question in the Commons to claim the UK was ‘living under two-tier policing’, adding this had led to ‘the anger that you saw spilling out in Southampton last night’. Photograph: House of Commons/AFP/Getty Images The killing of Nowak, an 18-year-old university student, has sparked a nationwide debate about policing. The teenager was stabbed last December by Vickrum Digwa, who falsely claimed he had been racially attacked by him. In fact, Digwa had stabbed Nowak repeatedly, but officers arriving at the scene treated the student as a suspect. He was handcuffed and put under arrest, despite telling officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe. The Guardian has learned that police chiefs have ordered the nationwide increase in intelligence gathering about potential violence believed to be linked to far-right protests, with 11 offic