This is Northumberland Calling 29.5.26
The sleights of hand in the narrative edition
Hello America (especially Central Ohio), this is Northumberland calling.
The verdict in the murder of the university student who was stabbed by a Sikh who lied about racial abuse and the weapon he carried has returned a guilty verdict. The murderer will be sentenced on Monday but only one sentence is open to the judge – life. At question is the minimum tariff (sentence to be served before being released on license) – for a stabbing of this nature if over 18 which the murderer was, the starting point is 25 years being released on license. (NB To be released on license means very strict conditions and that person can be recalled to serve out the rest of their term for a simple infraction such as a parking ticket.) The sort of knife he was carrying is not permitted to be carried under UK law. Sikhs have permission to carry a small dagger or kirpan under their clothing if it is not used for offensive purposes. This was a much larger dagger. The murderer attempted to use his religion as justification for the murder, claiming the victim was racist and drunk. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/28/sorry-treating-dying-stab-victim-racist-hampshire-police/ or https://archive.ph/y4mqr
The defence will appeal because murders are always appealed. However, the guilty verdict was returned and the evidence would have to be substantial to overturn the verdict. The murderer’s mother was found guilty of seeking to hide the murder weapon and will be sentenced on the 17th. Again, it will be a lengthy prison sentence. The maximum sentence for assisting a murderer is 10 years. https://www.olliers.com/criminal-law/assisting-an-offender/
The Police are already facing an investigation about their actions as it is suspected that the anti-racism training played a part in allowing the murder victim to bleed out. It should be noted that in 2021, Hampshire was in the centre of major scandal about corruption, as well as racist and sexist abuse where three serving officers were dismissed and the training was altered. https://www.hampshirelive.news/news/hampshire-news/sexual-misconduct-discrimination-corruption-among-6291873
The police claim the stab wound to the chest was not noticeable and there was nothing they could have done as the wound was too deep. Not putting the victim in handcuffs would have been a good place to start though. The police force in question, Hampshire, apologized. The police’s assertion that the stab wound was too deep was most likely correct but they should now release the footage. It is something which requires serious investigation, not armchair detective work and I hope a proper investigation will be undertaken.
The case has not had huge coverage in the UK in part because it was a murder and in part because the media didn’t want to touch something like this as it goes against their DEI training. Basically it didn’t fit certain narratives, plus the murderer was caught and has now been convicted. The ultimate cause of death was the stab wound to the chest.
Reform is now asking questions as Starmer et al famously took the knee for George Floyd but kept quiet about this policing failure. It is very much meat to Reform as they will be targeting the Labour MP Jen Craft at any General Election. However Craft is one of the honourable exceptions and has been asking questions and highlighting the case. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/28/henry-nowak-george-floyd-police-death-outrage-uk/ or https://archive.ph/9YGTd
The Conservatives have also called for an end to the police fixation on race (started with the MacPherson Report under Blair) and an urgent IOPC investigation. This investigation is now underway.
There is a huge problem with youth unemployment in the UK – part of the trouble is the increasing minimum wage. The report from the Centre for Social Justice said that 27 non EU migrants under 25 were hired for every British under 25. Many of these entry level jobs are in hospitality and retail. One in seven recent British university graduates is now a NEET – not in employment, education or training. I suspect in part because of ‘diversity’ concerns it is easier to justify hiring non EU workers. CSJ is run by Alan Milburn who is ex-New Labour but even he is calling for British workers to be put first. He is also calling on a tightening around mental health benefits and a ban on social media for the young. https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/newsroom/27-young-non-eu-migrants-hired-for-every-young-brit-since-2020-analysis-reveals
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/28/one-in-seven-university-graduates-are-neets/ or https://archive.ph/KJMY0
The framing of the EHRC guidance is problematic. The mention keeps being toileting. It covers far more than that including women’s sports, charities which offer overnight accommodation such as Girl Guides and secure psych wards. The guidance for service providers. Employers who say they have been waiting for guidance are not covered. They still must abide by the law as clarified by FWS and the GLP judicial review which extended the FWS to the 1992 Workplace regulations. This article is about the sleights of hand: https://labourheartlands.com/trans-rights-the-conjuring-trick-at-the-toilet-door/
Here:
I am reading Christopher Clarke’s The Sleepwalkers about the start of WWI. I have just finished the first chapter on Serbia. There are parallels with the ME – the concept of pan-Serbia has a lot to answer for. The Serbs also invented the veneration of the suicide assassin. There was a lot of nudging and winking from Serbia re the assassination plot as they thought it suited them and tough if Austria-Hungary failed to notice the hints. The suspicion was that Franz-Joseph would have been far more liberal and this would have been detrimental to the cause a unified Serbia. Plus there were several wars with the Ottomans as the Balkans were mainly carved from the Ottoman Empire. History often echoes.
It has become warm (finally). The bees are going great guns. The vegetable patch is finally doing something. We however do require rain.
Paddy is woofing for his walk.
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The Sikh stabbing case: When will common sense and courage return to the West?
N.B. My first boss out of grad school was a Sikh. A great guy with a great family. I worked with a Sikh-American lawyer about 10-15 years ago. A very bright lawyer, highly competent professional who has gone on to become a general counsel for a large company. That experience was so positive and I had developed much admiration for Sikhs and their culture. So seeing this stuff in the UK and the episodes of incompetent over-the-road big rig truck drivers causing fatal accidents is stunning to me. I think the difference at least here is the time period of immigration following rules about 20-30 years ago versus unbridled anyone can come in recently.
Either you have a completely color blind society and apply the law and societal rules equally or you have no functioning society, at all.
And, yes, it really is that simple - except for simpletons and fools