Henry Nowak: New poll reveals overwhelming number of Brits want UK to ban kirpan

Henry Nowak: New poll reveals overwhelming number of Brits want UK to ban kirpanThousands of Brits want the Sikh ceremonial knife to be banned from the UK Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source By Jon King, News Reporter 09:31, Wed, Jun 3, 2026 Updated: 09:34, Wed, Jun 3, 2026 Henry Nowak's killer was wearing a kirpan, but he used a second blade to murder the student (Image: Hampshire Police)An overwhelming number of Express readers want the kirpan banned in the UK. Vickrum Digwa, 23, was given a life sentence for stabbing Henry Nowak, 18, with a knife with a 21cm long blade. While Digwa was wearing a kirpan, he had a second blade, described by the trial judge as “a large Sikh dagger”, which was used as the murder weapon. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) Judge William Mousley KC, sentencing Digwa, said there was a “huge responsibility” for Sikhs in being allowed to be in public with a knife “particularly in respect of the large dagger, a highly dangerous weapon, easily accessible to the wearer”. The Express asked readers in a poll whether the kirpan should be banned. There were 11,354 responses to the poll, with 9,699 saying "yes," there should be a kirpan ban. A total of 9,699 said "no" and 97 responded "don't know". Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get the day's biggest headlines in UK and World news and more Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may...