Three senior judges in the Court of Appeal have held that Vickrum Digwa’s sentence for the murder of Henry Novak was unduly lenient. The minimum term of his life sentence has been increased to 25 years.

Lady Chief Justice Carr, in the judgment, held that the original sentence of 21 years, ‘did not adequately reflect the overall seriousness of the murder’.

According to the Court of Appeal, the trial judge understated two aspects in his sentencing. Firstly, that a ‘large and immediately available dagger’ was used ‘repeatedly’ with the intention of killing someone unarmed. Also, the ‘deliberate cruelty’ and ‘additional suffering and obstruction’ which followed the stabbing, where Digwa filmed and taunted Henry.

It was also noted that Digwa had told his mother to remove the murder weapon, before proceeding to lie to police about how the attack occurred. These actions were found to have been an obstruction of justice.

The appeal case follows a referral from the Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC, under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.

Following the verdict, the Attorney General stated that ‘no sentence can ever fill the void left by his loss, and I hope this outcome goes some way towards bringing them the justice they deserve.’

Henry Novak’s family said that ‘we have been given a life sentence of grief’ and that ‘while today’s decision is welcome, our fight for justice is far from over’.

The IOPC investigation (Independent Office for Police Conduct) is ongoing, and continues to review the ‘full circumstances’ of the case. Two police officers continue to be under review by the IOPC for possible disciplinary proceedings.