A former justice secretary says it is possible the reason Henry Nowak was handcuffed minutes before he bled to death was because of a “mistake and confusion at the scene”.

But former Tory cabinet minister Alex Chalk said the police’s handling of Nowak was “very, very unusual” and “very surprising”.

There’s been uproar since the Nowak murder case concluded on Monday, with his killer, Vickrum Digwa, jailed for 21 years. 

That’s because of the police’s decision to initially believe Digwa’s malicious and false claims that Nowak had racially abused him and the officers’ initial disbelief that the teenager had been stabbed. 

It’s led to questions of whether Nowak was not believed because he was white, while his accuser – the murderer – was Sikh.

Asked about the case, the ex-justice secretary told Sky News: “If there was simply a mistake and confusion at the scene, I’ve got to tell you, it will not be the first time I’ve witnessed mistake and confusion at the scene. 

“So it is right that the IOPC [Independent Office for Police Conduct] investigation takes its course, etc. and that happens in a sober, calm way. 

“But this was a very, very unusual, very surprising. And look, it is troubling.

“So there’s a case to answer there and it’s got to be answered calmly but fully.”