"We will always seek to deport foreign criminals"
The mother of murderer Vickrum Digwa could face deportation from the UK after the Home Office signalled it would seek to remove foreign criminals at the earliest opportunity.
Kiran Kaur was jailed for three years in July for removing the knife her son used to kill 18-year-old student Henry Nowak from the crime scene.
However, Kaur, an Indian national who spent several months on remand, could be released from prison early under the Government’s early release scheme, potentially leaving her free around the anniversary of Nowak’s death.
The Home Office and Ministry of Justice declined to comment on individual cases but said:
“We will always seek to deport foreign criminals at the first opportunity.”
Kaur could be eligible for the Government’s deportation scheme, although she is also appealing against her sentence. A hearing is scheduled at the Court of Appeal on November 5.
Her son, Digwa, was jailed for life on June 1, with a minimum term of 21 years, for murdering Nowak in Southampton on December 3.
He had falsely claimed that the teenager racially abused him before the killing.
Kaur was sentenced in July for her role in concealing the murder weapon. Digwa had handed the knife to his mother, and police later found it at the family home alongside more than 20 other weapons.
During sentencing, Judge William Mousley KC told Kaur “a responsible parent would have challenged their son” and asked their child to “do the right thing”.
He continued: “You took the knife and put it at home with other weapons in your son’s bedroom.”
The judge said placing the knife among “a larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons” would have “helped to conceal what it had been used for” because she wanted him “to avoid being caught”.
He acknowledged that Kaur was unlikely to reoffend and that her motive was “mistakenly, to protect your son rather than for any personal gain”.
He added: “However, the seriousness of your offending requires you to be punished and others who might find themselves in a similar situation to be deterred from doing as you did.”
Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg described Kaur’s actions as “criminality of the highest order” and said her role was “crucial” in removing the knife.
The potential for Kaur to be released early comes as the Government continues to use early releases to ease pressure on the prison system.
Around 5,000 prisoners are scheduled to be released in stages over the next year, down from an initial figure of 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and the most serious child sex offenders.
Ministers have defended the scheme as necessary to prevent the justice system from collapsing, following a summer in which prison overcrowding and early releases dominated headlines.
Around 650 prisoners were released across the country this week under the scheme, less than two weeks after approximately 700 others were freed early.
The Home Office also expressed its sympathy for the victim’s family, saying:
“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Henry Nowak, whose life was cruelly cut short in a horrific act of violence.”
