“I haven’t taken any options off the table."
Shabana Mahmood is considering tighter laws around Sikh kirpans after the murder of Henry Nowak.
She said she had not “taken any options off the table” when asked whether religious exemptions to knife laws could be changed, following discussions with Mr Nowak’s family.
The student was murdered by Vickrum Digwa, who successfully persuaded a court that he had used a kirpan.
Digwa was carrying a kirpan and a 21cm blade, which was the real murder weapon.
The case has reignited debate over the extent of religious exemptions under British knife laws.
Footage of Mr Nowak being arrested while he lay dying, after Digwa falsely claimed that the victim had racially abused him, also sparked accusations of two-tier policing and violent disorder in Southampton, where the murder took place.
On November 5, Digwa’s prison sentence was increased by four years to a minimum term of 25 years after a judge ruled that his original punishment was “unduly lenient” and “understated” the “deliberate cruelty” of the crime.
Mr Nowak’s family has since been campaigning for the Government to establish clearer legal parameters around the kirpan, a religious article of faith carried by initiated Sikhs.
Under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, Sikhs who have been baptised and received the necessary spiritual training are permitted to carry a kirpan.
However, the Nowak family argues that the exemption needs clearer boundaries, particularly around the size, type and visibility of the blade.
Speaking to ITV about the possibility of legislative changes, Ms Mahmood said:
“I haven’t taken any options off the table. I’m also not going in with a fixed mind about what the right clarifications of the law might be.
“It’s important to get the right balance between religious expression in this country, which is something that many of us of a faith, including myself, hold very dearly, but do so in a way that is within what we expect of our citizens for the purposes of the criminal law.
“The religious exemption has been long understood, but recent practices of much bigger kirpans on display is much different to how most Sikhs have practised this part of their religion, where usually it’s a much smaller blade and is discreetly worn.
“What I’ve undertaken to the Nowak family is that I will look at this issue carefully.”
The issue was also raised by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who said:
“Protecting religious freedoms means one particular thing. There is no freedom to murder in any religion. And I think that we need to bring some common sense into this.
“This is something that we do need to look at because we want to make sure that religious minorities are integrated into our culture and that people don’t use loopholes which exist for religious minorities to commit crimes.”
Ms Badenoch also questioned whether religious objects should influence the severity of a criminal sentence, adding:
“I don’t think using a religious object should allow you to have a lesser sentence. If somebody hurts you with a wooden crucifix, they shouldn’t get a lighter sentence.”
Henry’s father, Mark Nowak, has been particularly vocal in calling for a clearer legal definition of what constitutes an acceptable kirpan.
He said: “I fully understand the need to carry a kirpan, but surely that should be defined in law in terms of size and type and whether it should be visible.
“And therefore, anything else should be made illegal.”
Mr Nowak met Gurmel Singh, chief executive of the National Sikh Museum, who acknowledged that discussions around defining the kirpan were necessary but complicated by the absence of a single agreed definition within Sikhism itself.
However, Mr Nowak rejected the suggestion that this should prevent the Government from introducing clearer legislation:
“I don’t accept that it’s difficult to legislate.
“Because the current ambiguity is probably being dealt with on the streets of Britain right now with police officers not knowing when to act and when not to act.”
Ms Badenoch also questioned the effectiveness of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is investigating Hampshire Police’s handling of Mr Nowak’s murder.
She said she did not have “full confidence” in the watchdog, following allegations from the Nowak family that both the police and the IOPC had “covered up” the way officers treated Henry.
The Conservative leader also criticised the prospect of early release for Kiran Kaur, Digwa’s mother, who was sentenced to three years in prison for concealing the murder weapon.
