A police chief has warned that claims of two-tier policing from politicians such as Nigel Farage could set back efforts to end prejudice against black people “to the 1960s and 1970s”.
The Reform UK leader, who has been accused by his political opponents of stoking racial tensions with his remarks, said division in Britain would get “far worse” if steps were not taken to change policing culture.
He has defended his response to the murder, after Sir Keir Starmer branded him “unforgivable” for suggesting the public should feel “pure, cold rage” about the case.
Chief inspector Andy George, the president of the National Black Police Association, said that the debate around two-tier policing “needs to be evidence-based”.
He said: “It needs to come from more than just soundbites and trying to get point scoring off of tragic incidents like this.”
He stressed that multiple reports had stated that policing “doesn’t always apply the law in an even-handed manner”, and said: “Now is the time for us to do what we should have done after many years to fix policing, to make sure officers are equipped to make decisions in fast-moving situations and that they understand that the UK is a diverse place and that is has many different experiences and cultures across the board.”
Political outcry about the murder, which took place in December last year, has centred on the response of the police officers who dealt with Nowak before his death.
His killer, Vickrum Digwa, claimed he had been the victim of a racial attack while the student was handcuffed by the police as he lay dying.
The case has prompted accusations that police equality guidance influenced the disparity in how Nowak and his killer were initially treated, and that there has been a bias against white people.
Ch Insp George, added: “There is a danger of policing going back to a time long before Stephen Lawrence’s murder, to the 1960s and 1970s, because of the attacks from the far right which have been growing over the past few years, and which are becoming more mainstream.”
He also warned of an “auto-correction” to policing in response to the murder, and said there are “definitely lessons to be learned”.
He added: “So, I would say it is definitely an auto-correction – it’s very swift, it’s quick – I don’t think it’s as well thought-out as it should be.
“I think it’s reactive to the current swell that we’re seeing in social media and across different areas of public life at the minute.”
Elsewhere, The Times and The Telegraph reported that police officers in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight constabulary, which dealt with Nowak’s murder had felt pressured by mandatory diversity training they had received.
One in seven officers felt “controlled or pressured to feel certain ways” after receiving the training about racism and unconscious bias, the results of a survey seen by the newspapers revealed.
Mr Farage has doubled down on his response to the murder, telling Times Radio that he had used the term “cold rage” very deliberately, adding: “I suggested that rage was put in a cold way, not a hot way.”
Pressed if there was a danger his remarks could have been interpreted as incitement, Mr Farage told the broadcaster: “The division will get far worse. What you saw in Southampton last night is the beginning.
“If we get large numbers of young, white males who think the police are prejudiced against them, goodness knows where we go. This has to end.”
Sir Keir had also condemned riots on Tuesday in Southampton following the case’s conclusion, which led to the injury of 11 police officers and a police dog.
