British police faced backlash on Tuesday over the case of an 18-year-old student who was handcuffed as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer falsely alleged a racist attack.
Digwa stabbed Nowak with a knife he said he was permitted to carry due to exemptions for Sikhs to have ceremonial daggers.
I don’t understand this, isn’t anyone “permitted” to carry a knife wherever they want to in public? Why do they call it an exemption
Edit: Since I’m guessing the answer is “not in the UK” my follow up question would be how do people buy knives there?
Do they have to dodge the cops on their way home from the store?
Thing 1: The UK law is that citizens should not carry a knife exceeding 3" in length in public unless they have good reason to. In reality, what this means is that unless you are a scumbag, there is not a problem. Going hunting? On the tools? Work as a chef? Not an issue. Being a sketchy gang member who intends to do harm to others? - now the public services have something to charge you with to prevent said behaviour. While there are exemptions to the rule for religious/cultural groups (Scots included), the reality is that it’s a non issue unless you plan on breaking the law.
Thing 2: The UK police have been chronically underfunded for decades as the wealth of the country has been gradually privatised and offshored by the very same groups who fund political parties like The Conservatives and Reform (who are currently stoking tension with this story) and whose donors, coincidentally, own much of the media. Police now receive very little training and not much pay. The organisation is very under-resourced.
Thing 3: The police officers attended the scene having been told by the perpetrators that they had been attacked and racially abused by a drunk man who then tried to climb over a fence and fell on his head. They entered the scene primed to find a drunk/drugged and violent muppet who had fallen on his own head having attacked a family on a domestic street. The police officers were incompetent, poorly trained, not that bright. What happened was tragic. They failed to perceive the truth… but to say the are somehow racist is a stretch. They were deceived by an unhinged man, who has been locked up already.
Lastly, thing 4: The Sikh idiot didn’t use the standard ceremonial (and often blunt) blade that Sikhs normally carry. He used a larger and very sharp one. I believe his family members (who assisted in the deception; his mother even hid the knife) are being charged with weapons offences today.
Welcome to the UK. You make the mistake of trying to apply logic. Just because a knife is a legitimate tool and you have a genuine reason to be using it doesn’t mean you won’t be charged. Their law simply does not care and if you’re caught it doesn’t matter the reason you had it.
Search engines are garbage and only give me results about the news story in the OP even with very specific search terms but there was one a few years ago where someone, I want to say he was a carpenter or tradesman of some sort had a normal pocket knife in his work pants outside of work and got arrested and convicted. The judge at his trial apologized and said it was unfortunate since the knife was a normal requirement for his work but the law is the law. They then returned the knife to him after the trial because they acknowledged it was needed for work.
Uk law is you can carry up to a 3.5" folding knife as a general EDC.
Obviously exemptions if your job requires it but they need to be stored correctly so chefs put them in canvas rolls, trades tool boxes etc
Because Sikhs have to carry the knife as part of their religion. The religion, however, forbids the offensive use of the knife. It is only for self-defense.
Yeah but I’m pretty sure I can also just put a knife in my pocket and leave my house without doing anything illegal in the process, so I’m wondering why there needs to be an exemption.
Edit: Also pretty sure everyone is forbidden from using knives offensively not just Sikhs
Many British laws consist of a blanket ban with exemptions rather than the American assumption of legality unless specifically banned. So knives that are legal to carry/legal reasons for carrying a knife are all exemptions rather than an assumed norm.
I don’t understand this, isn’t anyone “permitted” to carry a knife wherever they want to in public? Why do they call it an exemption
Edit: Since I’m guessing the answer is “not in the UK” my follow up question would be how do people buy knives there? Do they have to dodge the cops on their way home from the store?
So there are some things to consider here.
Thing 1: The UK law is that citizens should not carry a knife exceeding 3" in length in public unless they have good reason to. In reality, what this means is that unless you are a scumbag, there is not a problem. Going hunting? On the tools? Work as a chef? Not an issue. Being a sketchy gang member who intends to do harm to others? - now the public services have something to charge you with to prevent said behaviour. While there are exemptions to the rule for religious/cultural groups (Scots included), the reality is that it’s a non issue unless you plan on breaking the law.
Thing 2: The UK police have been chronically underfunded for decades as the wealth of the country has been gradually privatised and offshored by the very same groups who fund political parties like The Conservatives and Reform (who are currently stoking tension with this story) and whose donors, coincidentally, own much of the media. Police now receive very little training and not much pay. The organisation is very under-resourced.
Thing 3: The police officers attended the scene having been told by the perpetrators that they had been attacked and racially abused by a drunk man who then tried to climb over a fence and fell on his head. They entered the scene primed to find a drunk/drugged and violent muppet who had fallen on his own head having attacked a family on a domestic street. The police officers were incompetent, poorly trained, not that bright. What happened was tragic. They failed to perceive the truth… but to say the are somehow racist is a stretch. They were deceived by an unhinged man, who has been locked up already.
Lastly, thing 4: The Sikh idiot didn’t use the standard ceremonial (and often blunt) blade that Sikhs normally carry. He used a larger and very sharp one. I believe his family members (who assisted in the deception; his mother even hid the knife) are being charged with weapons offences today.
All very sad.
From the sounds of it, the newspaper is being deliberately misleading to drum up something or other.
Ding ding ding
Welcome to the UK. You make the mistake of trying to apply logic. Just because a knife is a legitimate tool and you have a genuine reason to be using it doesn’t mean you won’t be charged. Their law simply does not care and if you’re caught it doesn’t matter the reason you had it.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jul/28/man-allotment-gardening-tools-arrest-armed-police-manchester
Search engines are garbage and only give me results about the news story in the OP even with very specific search terms but there was one a few years ago where someone, I want to say he was a carpenter or tradesman of some sort had a normal pocket knife in his work pants outside of work and got arrested and convicted. The judge at his trial apologized and said it was unfortunate since the knife was a normal requirement for his work but the law is the law. They then returned the knife to him after the trial because they acknowledged it was needed for work.
Uk law is you can carry up to a 3.5" folding knife as a general EDC. Obviously exemptions if your job requires it but they need to be stored correctly so chefs put them in canvas rolls, trades tool boxes etc
Because Sikhs have to carry the knife as part of their religion. The religion, however, forbids the offensive use of the knife. It is only for self-defense.
Yeah but I’m pretty sure I can also just put a knife in my pocket and leave my house without doing anything illegal in the process, so I’m wondering why there needs to be an exemption.
Edit: Also pretty sure everyone is forbidden from using knives offensively not just Sikhs
Many British laws consist of a blanket ban with exemptions rather than the American assumption of legality unless specifically banned. So knives that are legal to carry/legal reasons for carrying a knife are all exemptions rather than an assumed norm.
What if it’s part of religion to carry an AR-15 or even a handgun? Having a weapon gives a distinct advantage over others.
Then you can make that case in court, like Siks have done.
I hope someone does.