Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Arek Jóźwik killing: five teenagers face no further action over possible hate crime death of Polish immigrant

One teenager remains on bail in connection with the possible hate crime in Harlow, Essex

Thursday 06 October 2016 14:11 BST

Floral tributes left for Arek Jozwik after he died in Harlow (AFP)

Five teenagers arrested after Polish immigrant Arek Jóźwik was killed in a possible hate crime in Harlow, Essex, will face no further action due to a lack of evidence, police have said.

A 15-year-old, however, remains on bail in connection with Mr Jóźwik’s death.

The 40-year-old suffered head injuries after he was allegedly attacked and fell to the ground outside a row of takeaway shops in The Stow, Harlow, on August 27. He died in hospital two days later.

Six teenagers, five aged 15 and one 16-year-old, all from Harlow, were arrested on suspicion of murder between August 28 and 29. Five have now been released without charge due to insufficient evidence.

Detective Inspector Danny Stoten, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "The investigation into Arek Jozwik's death is progressing and I am grateful to the Harlow community for their ongoing support.

"Arek's family has been updated throughout the investigation.

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Show all 6

1/66 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

More expensive foreign holidays

The first practical effect of a vote to Leave is that the pound will be worth less abroad, meaning foreign holidays will cost us more

nito100

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

No immediate change in immigration status

The Prime Minister will have to address other immediate concerns. He is likely to reassure nationals of other EU countries living in the UK that their status is unchanged. That is what the Leave campaign has said, so, even after the Brexit negotiations are complete, those who are already in the UK would be allowed to stay

Getty

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Higher inflation

A lower pound means that imports would become more expensive. This is likely to mean the return of inflation – a phenomenon with which many of us are unfamiliar because prices have been stable for so long, rising at no more than about 2 per cent a year. The effect may probably not be particularly noticeable in the first few months. At first price rises would be confined to imported goods – food and clothes being the most obvious – but inflation has a tendency to spread and to gain its own momentum

AFP/Getty Images

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Interest rates might rise

The trouble with inflation is that the Bank of England has a legal obligation to keep it as close to 2 per cent a year as possible. If a fall in the pound threatens to push prices up faster than this, the Bank will raise interest rates. This acts against inflation in three ways. First, it makes the pound more attractive, because deposits in pounds will earn higher interest. Second, it reduces demand by putting up the cost of borrowing, and especially by taking larger mortgage payments out of the economy. Third, it makes it more expensive for businesses to borrow to expand output

Getty

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Did somebody say recession?

Mr Carney, the Treasury and a range of international economists have warned about this. Many Leave voters appear not to have believed them, or to think that they are exaggerating small, long-term effects. But there is no doubt that the Leave vote is a negative shock to the economy. This is because it changes expectations about the economy’s future performance. Even though Britain is not actually be leaving the EU for at least two years, companies and investors will start to move money out of Britain, or to scale back plans for expansion, because they are less confident about what would happen after 2018

AFP/Getty Images

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

And we wouldn’t even get our money back

All this will be happening while the Prime Minister, whoever he or she is, is negotiating the terms of our future access to the EU single market. In the meantime, our trade with the EU would be unaffected, except that companies elsewhere in the EU may be less interested in buying from us or selling to us, expecting tariff barriers to go up in two years’ time. Whoever the Chancellor is, he or she may feel the need to bring in a new Budget

Getty Images

"We have carried out a huge amount of work into the investigation. So far we have taken over 150 witness statements, spoken to over 300 people during house-to-house and general inquiries, and seized over 100 hours of CCTV, which is subject to ongoing viewing.

"In excess of 30 police officers and staff have been involved in the investigation and have committed over 1,200 additional hours."

Mr Jozwick’s death had been linked by some commentators to the outpouring of so-called ‘post-referendum racism’ that followed the June vote. Visiting Harlow in August Arkady Rzegocki, Poland’s ambassador to the UK, spoke of “much more” racism occurring since the referendum.

The incident also contributed to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker using his annual state of the union address last month to condemn attacks on Polish people in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.

Some immigrants in Harlow told The Independent they had thought of leaving the town in the wake of Mr Jozwick’s death.

Others, however, insisted that Harlow was not a “racist town” and questioned whether the incident was more closely linked to anti-social behaviour by bored residents. One British-born resident complained of “little scumbags looking for anyone to pick on”.

In September a small team of Polish police officers flew to Harlow to patrol the streets alongside British officers in an effort to reassure the public.