There are calls for Gurvinder Singh Johal’s death to be investigated further
04:00, 13 Nov 2025Updated 09:53, 13 Nov 2025
Police in Derby city centre on the day Gurvinder Singh Johal was killed(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
An important debate is to be held over whether or not a public inquiry should be launched into the murder of a Derby businessman.
Gurvinder Singh Johal was stabbed to death by drunk Somalian asylum seeker Haybe Cabdiraxmann Nur, inside Lloyds Bank in Derby city centre, earlier this year.
Nur was sentenced to life in prison for killing Mr Johal at the bank’s branch on St Peter’s Street.
A sentencing hearing heard Nur paid £400 to be brought to the UK illegally and was known to four police forces in Europe.
But Derbyshire police say they were not aware of Nur’s “previous contact with law enforcement in other countries prior to his arrival in the UK”.
Nur was arrested on his arrival “in a small boat” in September 2024, and the Home Office refused his application for asylum. He appealed, and that was the position at the time of the murder.
Derby City Council documents state a meeting on Wednesday, November 19, will see councillors debate a motion put forward to “demand a statutory public inquiry into the murder of Mr Gurvinder Singh Johal and systemic failures in public protection”.
The motion has been proposed by Conservative councillor Jonathan Smale who wants the horrific incident and the circumstances surrounding it to be investigated further.
He said the tragedy “raises the most serious possible questions about how a clearly dangerous individual, already known to law enforcement overseas, was able to enter the United Kingdom, remain in Derby, and ultimately take the life of an innocent man in our city”.
Gurvinder Singh Johal(Image: Submitted)
The Spondon councillor adds: “Confidence in the ability of the authorities — including Derbyshire police, national agencies, and the Home Office — to protect the public is collapsing.”
Deputy Chief Constable Simon Blatchly issued a statement in response to the calls for a public inquiry. In it, the officer explained what Derbyshire police knew and didn’t know when the murder investigation was launched.
He said: “The murder of Gurvinder Singh Johal was a tragic incident for his family, friends, and wider community. The incident has also had a profound effect on those who witnessed it and responded to it, and our thoughts remain with all those impacted by it.
“We also understand that Mr Johal’s murder, along with a number of other high-profile incidents in the city centre in recent months, has caused understandable concern.
“However, I want to be very clear about what was known by the force at the time of this incident.
Flowers were left as a tribute to the victim outside the city centre bank.(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Reach PLC)
“The force was not aware of any previous contact with law enforcement in other countries prior to his arrival in the UK – or that he had served a prison sentence abroad.
“The force only learnt of these facts following his arrest and the subsequent murder investigation.
“As a force we would always want to have the broadest information shared to understand those who come into contact with the force and manage any risk that those individuals may pose.
“A decision relating to whether an inquest will be held in relation to the death of Mr Johal has not been made, and we will fully support any further proceedings, whatever form they take.”
The Home Office said the Labour government removed almost 5,200 foreign national offenders in its first year in office – a 14 per cent increase on the previous twelve months.
Alex Norris, minister for border security and asylum, said: “Our thoughts remain very firmly with the loved ones of Gurvinder Johal, after his horrific murder.
“This was a terrifying and shocking incident, which we will not tolerate. Any foreign national who commits a heinous crime on the streets of Britain will face justice and then be subject to deportation from our country.”
Next Wednesday’s full council meeting will start at 6pm. Members of the public can watch the proceedings at Derby’s Council House or watch online via the city council’s YouTube channel.
