The mother of killer Vickrum Digwa could reportedly be released from prison early, in what is being described as a “blow” for the family of Digwa’s young victim, Henry Nowak.
Kiran Kaur was jailed for three years for removing the knife used by her son to murder Mr Nowak, an 18-year-old university student, from the crime scene.
Kaur was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court in July for assisting an offender on the night of the murder on 3 December 2025 by taking the weapon back to the nearby family home.
Kaur could serve less than half of her sentence and be freed around the anniversary of Mr Nowak’s death under the Government’s early release scheme, ITV News reported.
She is also appealing against her sentence, with a hearing scheduled at the Court of Appeal on 5 November.
Donna Jones, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, told the BBC’s Today programme that an early release would raise “very serious questions about the robustness of our criminal justice system”.
She said that she would write to Justice Secretary Alex Norris and request “clarity” on the matter.
“I don’t think it’s right that she is released” early, Ms Jones said.
“[It] is going to be a significant blow for Henry’s family.
“This is quite shocking.”
Ms Jones said that prisoners were released early in the UK because of prison overcrowding.
“Let’s not forget that prison overcrowding is in the adult male prison population.
“It doesn’t affect youth offending, so young males or females, and in fact it’s almost impossible for young females to be sent to prison now, anyway. But it certainly doesn’t affect the adult female prison population.
“So Kiran Kaur is not taking up a bed in a prison in the United Kingdom right now that could otherwise be going to someone who is posing a much bigger threat to the country.”
Kaur, who is an Indian national, may be eligible for the government’s deportation scheme after her release.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said his “thoughts remain with the family and friends of Henry Nowak after his shocking murder”.
Declining to comment on the individual case, she said: “We will always try to deport foreign criminals as soon as we can.”
The Home Office declined to comment on individual cases, but said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Henry Nowak, whose life was cruelly cut short in a horrific act of violence.
“We will always seek to deport foreign criminals at the first opportunity.”
Digwa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years on 1 June for the murder of the 18-year-old student, after falsely claiming Mr Nowak had racially abused him.
When handing down Kaur’s sentence in July, Judge William Mousley KC said: “A responsible parent would have challenged their son over their actions and encourage them to do the right thing.
“Instead, you took the knife home and put it with a larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons in your son’s bedroom. That would have helped to conceal what it had been used for.”
Some 5,000 prisoners are scheduled to be released in stages over the next year, down from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and the most serious child sex offenders.
Ministers say the expanded early release scheme is needed to prevent the justice system from collapsing, after a summer when the issue dominated news headlines.
Some 650 criminals were this week released from prisons around the country under the scheme, less than two weeks after 700 were set free early.
