THE murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence 33 years ago ushered in a range of race reforms that changed the face of policing and wider society.

Arguably, the pendulum has swung too far and the murder of another 18-year-old, Henry Nowak, must become a new turning point for this nation.

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Henry Nowak’s death must be a turning point for British police Credit: AFP

The police’s obsession with DEI left Nowak to die Credit: Solent

Henry’s death — and the appalling way police treated him — demonstrates that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies have gone too far.

The anti-racism agenda enhanced in the wake of the 2020 death of George Floyd in the US, and the advent of the Black Lives Matter movement, now mean white people can receive a poorer service than others.

This creates a perception that police are biased, as the dreadful body-worn video of Henry’s final minutes clearly shows.

It stokes up resentment, is bad for society and further reduces trust and confidence in policing.

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It is no good the Prime Minister claiming that two-tier policing does not exist — too many people can see it with their own eyes.

I served for more than three decades in the Army and Metropolitan Police and saw the changes which have brought us to this point.

All too often in the police, promotion depends more on a commitment to “celebrating diversity” than on preventing and detecting crime.

And we can see the results, with shoplifting out of control and 95 per cent of burglaries going unsolved.

Digwa stabbed Nowak five times and was sentenced to 21 years in prison Credit: Solent

Horrifying bodycam footage captures Henry’s last moments as cops arrest him for alleged racism, despite telling them he was stabbed several times Credit: PA

Have a look at the website of your local police force.

It will tell you all about diversity, stop and search and how many female officers they employ.

It will not tell you how many thieves, rapists and robbers they have caught.

After the death of George Floyd, British police chiefs and the National Police Chiefs’ Council were keen to produce Race Action Plans, which were introduced in May 2022.

Hampshire Police’s plan is freely available online and notes that there will be “zero tolerance of racism” and ensures the force “is anti-racist in all it does”.

It even references George Floyd’s death, describing it as a “pivotal moment for policing in the UK”.

This message is then rammed down the throats of police officers in training, who are terrified of being accused of “racism” and losing their jobs.

So when Henry’s killer, Vickrum Digwa, alleged he was the victim of a racist attack, police immediately assumed that he was innocent and Henry was the villain.

And why, indeed, was Henry handcuffed for allegedly making a racist remark while Digwa was not when later arrested for murder?

Is an unproven racist remark more serious than killing another human being? That’s what it seems like.

The Hampshire Police Race Action Report also states: “We will pursue offenders and deal with offences that cause the most harm to our ethnic minority communities.

“We want to deliver a policing service to all of our communities and victims that we can be proud of.”

Yet police swear an oath when they join the force to act “without fear or favour” and this advice is surely contrary to that colour-blind policy.

During my time in the police, I saw how fear of racism interfered in operational matters.

In 2001, I was due to attend a meeting at Lambeth Town Hall as the detective inspector in charge of combating street robbery in the area.

A detailed analysis had been conducted on the profiles of victims and suspects.

It revealed that the vast number of those committing the robberies were young Afro-Caribbean men.

This was all included in a report which was sent to the superintendent.

While in their office, I witnessed them ripping out the page describing the suspects because they were afraid it would affect their promotion prospects.

There was no thought of the victims of these violent offences.

I later set up a unit at Scotland Yard, which received CCTV images of unidentified suspects and circulated them to officers for identification.

Each week, I created a journal called “Caught On Camera” and, to entice officers to look at the suspects, I ensured the front cover had an interesting or serious crime, captured in a good quality image.

Digwa deceiving police on the scene Credit: Solent

The street in Southampton where the attack unfolded Credit: Solent

This was like putting an interesting story on the front page of a newspaper — the reader is drawn in and looks at the other images inside.

But after six months, I received a phone call from the Met’s Criminal Justice Department. I was told to put “more white people” on the front cover.

Once again, fear of racism trumped getting identifications for murder, rape and armed robbery.

This issue has been further highlighted with the scandal of the grooming gangs, where many of those involved in the rapes and violence were Muslim men of Pakistani origin.

These evil men were allowed to offend without fear of arrest due to senior police officers seeing self-advancement as being more important than the safety of white, working-class girls.

We see the same “disproportionality” with stop and search.

Cops on the street cannot help who commits certain forms of crime.

If offending is disproportionate, then police action will be the same.During my time in the force, there were typically fewer black burglars and fewer white street robbers.

There were very few Jewish, Hindu or Sikhs (Digwa is a rare example) being involved in violent crime.

Unfortunately, common sense and fairness have been sacrificed at the altar of political correctness.

It has taken Henry’s murder and his treatment by police to show that now is the time for a major change in policing.

In my opinion, all current diversity and “anti-racism” policies must be cancelled as they are not fit for purpose.

Police must treat all people with the same dignity and respect.

When attending crime scenes, officers should act on the evidence and not assume that a white person is guilty of racism if an unfounded accusation is made.

We are told that the National Police Chiefs’ Council will now be reviewing their current guidance for officers to treat ethnic minorities favourably.

This guidance is not only patently nonsense, but is racist in itself and must be stamped out as ALL lives matter.