Mother of Henry Nowak's killer is to be freed from prison under Labour's early release scheme - after she was locked up for removing murder weapon

The mother of Henry Nowak's killer – who was jailed for removing the murder weapon – is to be freed after serving just one third of her sentence thanks to Labour's early release scheme.

Kiran Kaur, 53, is due to be let out of jail early in December under a controversial programme that is due to free up to 50,000 offenders a year.

Kaur will be one of the most high-profile criminals to benefit from Labour's soft justice programme so far.

She was jailed for three years on July 17 after being convicted of assisting an offender.

It is thought she had spent about seven months in prison on remand before her sentencing, meaning she will be eligible for release in December after completing one third of her punishment.

Kaur's son Vickrum Digwa stabbed 18-year-old Mr Nowak to death in Southampton with an eight-inch ceremonial dagger on December 3 last year.

He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years in June.

Digwa, a Sikh, did not know his teenage victim but lied to police officers at the scene by claiming Mr Nowak shouted racist abuse, punched him and knocked off his turban.

Mr Nowak was then arrested as he lay covered in his own blood, before dying alone in police custody.

Following Digwa and his mother's sentencings, the Crown Prosecution Service released footage of the moment the murderer told her to take the knife he had used to kill Mr Nowak.

In the video, Digwa could be heard talking to his mother in Punjabi asking her to take away the weapon. The clip was taken on Digwa's phone and was pointed to the ground.

A transcript released by the CPS revealed how Digwa told Kaur: 'Take this', which prosecutors said was referring to the knife.

During her sentencing at Southampton Crown Court Judge William Mousley said when Digwa told Kaur to take the murder weapon away 'by then you knew or believed that he had stabbed and injured Henry'.

The judge also told Kaur: 'A responsible parent would have challenged their son over their actions and encourage them to do the right thing.'

Kaur took the murder weapon home and put it with a 'larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons in your son's bedroom', Judge Mousley said.

He added that this would have helped to conceal its use because she wanted him to 'avoid being caught'.

The judge said her actions 'added to your son's pretence that he had done nothing wrong and that he was the victim', and added that she added to the 'degradation of Henry being arrested when he was dying'.

Prosecuting barrister Nicholas Lobbenberg told the court that the weapon was not found by police until December 10 last year – seven days after the attack.

It remains unclear whether Kaur, an Indian national, will face deportation proceedings, according to ITV News, which first reported Kaur's impending release.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Henry Nowak, whose life was cruelly cut short in a horrific act of violence.

'We will always seek to deport foreign criminals at the first opportunity.'

Labour's prison release scheme launched at the start of this month.

From November 10 it will be extended to offenders serving sentences up to three years and three months, meaning Kaur will become eligible.

Labour's new programme is broader in scope than its previous release scheme, launched in 2024, which saw 70,000 criminals let out early in its first 19 months.

Despite being scheduled for early release, Kaur will appeal against her sentence at the Court of Appeal on November 5.

On the same day the court is due to consider an appeal by Digwa against his sentence, and also decide on a referral from the Attorney General which argued the sentence was too lenient. Digwa is also mounting a separate appeal against his conviction.