Author: Henry Caldwell

Four arrests, nearly £1m in damage and the spectre of Iranian-backed involvement — a hate crime inquiry that has become something considerably more complex It was, by any measure, a brazen act. In the early hours of 23 March, a group of individuals set fire to ambulances belonging to Hatzola — a volunteer Jewish emergency medical service — in the car park of a synagogue in Golders Green, north London. The vehicles were reduced to wreckage. The damage, prosecutors told Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, amounted to nearly £1 million. More than the financial cost, however, it was the symbolism…

A 14-year-old boy has been identified as the victim of a fatal shooting in Woolwich, south-east London, as detectives continue their murder investigation. The victim has been named as Eghosa Ogbebor, though a formal identification has not yet been completed. His family has been notified and is receiving support from specially trained police officers. Emergency services were called to Lord Warwick Street at around 3:40pm on Thursday, 2 April, following reports of a shooting in the area. Paramedics worked to save the boy at the scene, but he was pronounced dead despite their best efforts. The incident has sent shockwaves…

A prison officer who accepted cash payments to help a north London organised crime group smuggle contraband into a south-east London jail has been sentenced alongside seven gang members, with the group receiving a combined total of 25 years in prison following a Metropolitan Police investigation. Jason Thompson, 34, of Stanley Close, SE9, worked as a guard at HMP Isis and acted as the link between the gang and the prison, earning between £400 and £600 per package he helped bring in. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to convey List A articles into prison and misconduct in a public office,…

A 44-year-old man from south London has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of ten sexual offences against a young child, including rape, following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Team. Kamran Khan, of Streatham High Road, Lambeth, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Wednesday, 1 April, having been found guilty at the same court in January. The offences, which related to a single victim, included the rape of a girl under the age of 13 and assault by touching. The abuse took place across multiple locations, including within the child’s…

The family of a 26-year-old man fatally shot in Camden has paid tribute to him following his formal identification, as homicide detectives continue to appeal for information.Nahom Medhanie was pronounced dead at the scene on Chalton Street in the early hours of Sunday, 29 March, after officers were called to reports of gunshots shortly before 11pm the previous night. He was formally identified on Tuesday following a post-mortem examination.In a statement released through the Metropolitan Police, his family said: “Nahom was more than a son and a brother to us and since his passing it has been the hardest days…

A youth court is considering whether to refer a 17-year-old boy to crown court after he admitted stealing almost £140,000 worth of goods from high street retailers across the capital over a period of nearly two years. Sitting at Highbury Corner Youth Court, magistrates heard the teenager had pleaded guilty to 19 theft offences — 15 against Boots and four against Holland & Barrett. He had originally faced 56 charges related to Boots alone, and the remaining counts will be taken into consideration at sentencing. Prosecution barrister Edward Kalber argued the gravity of the offending warranted an upward referral. “The…

A murder investigation in the heart of Westminster has taken a significant step forward after two men were arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 26-year-old man near a busy central London street. The victim, named by police as Farmanullah Sherzad, was found with multiple stab wounds on Abbey Orchard Street, SW1, shortly after 10pm on Friday 27 March. Officers arrived within minutes of being called and began administering first aid before the London Ambulance Service transported him to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination subsequently confirmed that his death was caused by multiple…

A 26-year-old man was shot multiple times and killed in north London on Saturday night, with Metropolitan Police detectives now leading a murder investigation following what witnesses described as a rapid and targeted attack. The victim was sitting inside a white Nissan Juke on Chalton Street in Camden when a suspect arrived on a bicycle, fired several shots, and left the same way. Despite the efforts of paramedics who attended the scene, the man was pronounced dead at the location. His family has been informed and is receiving support from specialist officers. Officers were called to reports of gunshots at…

Farage Targets Croydon, Bromley And Bexley As Reform UK Launches London Council Election Campaign With Aim Of First Ever Capital Wins Reform UK is setting its sights on a string of London boroughs as it bids to win council seats in the capital for the first time, with the party identifying several areas it believes are within reach ahead of the 7 May local elections. Speaking at the campaign launch in Croydon, Nigel Farage named Bromley, Bexley, Havering and Croydon itself as boroughs where the party believes it can mount a serious challenge. With all 32 London boroughs holding all-out…

A fireboat was drafted in to draw water directly from the River Thames as part of a major firefighting operation at a scrap metal yard in south-east London in the early hours of Saturday morning. The blaze broke out at a recycling site on Manor Road in Erith, prompting the London Fire Brigade to dispatch around 80 firefighters and 12 engines to the scene. Among the specialist equipment deployed was one of the brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders, which was positioned as an elevated water tower to tackle the flames from height — an approach used when ground-level access proves insufficient.…