Further Arrests and Charges Following Southampton Protests

A 16-year-old girl is among five further people arrested following protests over the police response to the murder of University of Southampton student Henry Nowak.

Three more men are due before magistrates after being charged in connection with violent disorder in Southampton.

Darren Medhurst, 36, and Jordan Hambleton, 19, both from Southampton, and Callum Darch, 27, from Romsey, have each been charged with violent disorder.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said all three were remanded in custody and are due to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court later today.

Their cases bring the total number of people charged following the disorder to 14.

Four additional men have also been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder. They are three Southampton men aged 18, 34 and 45, and a 41-year-old man from Basingstoke.

A 16-year-old girl from Southampton was arrested on suspicion of the same offence and later released on conditional police bail while enquiries continue.

The unrest followed a protest over the way police dealt with the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old University of Southampton student Henry Nowak.

Body-worn camera footage released following the conviction of his killer showed Henry telling officers that he had been stabbed and could not breathe.

Officers initially handcuffed him after Vickrum Digwa falsely claimed he had been racially abused and attacked by Henry.

Digwa, 23, was convicted of murdering the first-year accountancy and finance student and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years.

Henry, who came from Chafford Hundred in Essex, was attacked in Southampton on December 3, 2025.

The police response is being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones has also requested an urgent independent inspection into issues arising from the case.

She has asked inspectors to examine how critical information was passed from the police control room to officers, the training given to frontline officers responding to knife attacks and the provision of immediate first aid.

The review will also consider how officers assess conflicting accounts at the scene of a violent incident.

The protest began outside Southampton Central Police Station before disorder broke out elsewhere in the city.

Police said 11 officers and a police dog were injured as objects including bricks, bottles, chairs, bins and an e-scooter were thrown.

Eight men have so far pleaded guilty to violent disorder arising from the unrest.

Four defendants admitted the offence at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

Harry Varney, 34, and Dillon Crawford, 29, both from Southampton, Taylor Grundy, 22, from Gosport, and Andrew Summerhayes, 38, from Romsey, were remanded in custody ahead of appearances at Southampton Crown Court.

Summerhayes also admitted two counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

Kevin Reeves, 31, and Andrew Riddett, 38, both from Southampton, entered no pleas to violent disorder charges during separate hearings.