Author: James Whitmore

A convicted murderer who was recommended for transfer to an open prison will remain in closed conditions after Justice Secretary David Lammy intervened to block the move.Jake Fahri, 36, was handed a life sentence in 2009 with a minimum term of 14 years for the murder of 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen in a south London bakery the previous year. During the fatal attack, Fahri threw a glass or oven dish at the teenager, which shattered and severed blood vessels in his neck.Released on licence in June 2023, Fahri subsequently launched a music career as “Ten”, a masked drill artist whose tracks…

Pro-democracy demonstrators clashed with police outside the Iranian embassy in London during a protest that saw multiple arrests and injuries to officers. The Metropolitan Police issued a legal dispersal order requiring protesters to leave the area after attempts were made to remove the current regime’s flag from the embassy and replace it with the pre-1979 national colours used before the Islamic Revolution. According to the Metropolitan Police, a demonstrator unlawfully accessed private property during the protest, climbing across several balconies to reach the roof of the embassy where he removed a flag. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of criminal…

Two members of an international people-smuggling gang convicted of child sexual abuse are facing extradition to Belgium following their arrest in the UK. Zeeshan Banghis, 21, and Saifur Rahman Ahmedzai, 24, both Afghan nationals, were among 23 gang members sentenced by an Antwerp court in November 2024 for a range of offences including people smuggling, child sexual abuse, exploitation, and possession of indecent images of children. The criminal network organised the transport of migrants from Afghanistan through Iran, Turkey, and the Balkans to France and Belgium, with thousands suspected of being smuggled via small boats to the UK from northern…

Two people have died following a fire at a semi-detached property in Barnet, North London, in the early hours of January 16.Firefighters were called to Albemarle Road shortly before 1.45am, where a blaze had broken out on the ground floor of the two-storey home. Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters from Barnet, Southgate, and Finchley fire stations attended the scene.A man and woman were removed from the property by firefighters but were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics from the London Ambulance Service.The London Fire Brigade confirmed the incident in a statement, saying: “The fire was located on…

Two London Underground lines faced significant disruption on the morning of January 16, affecting commuters across the capital ahead of the rush hour period.District line services were suspended between Earl’s Court and Wimbledon following the late completion of engineering work at Parsons Green. The remainder of the line continued to operate normally.Meanwhile, emergency engineering work resulted in a northbound suspension on sections of the Northern line. Passengers were unable to travel from Kennington to Battersea Power Station, or from Kennington via Charing Cross to Camden Town. Services on other parts of the line were unaffected.Transport for London confirmed that tickets…

A woman who killed a father-of-three by ramming his e-bike with her Range Rover during a high-speed chase through residential streets has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Zoe Treadwell, 36, from Bournemouth, pursued Joey Johnstone at speeds of up to 75mph in the early hours of 9 April 2025, believing him to be someone else. The 28-year-old was thrown from his bike and suffered a traumatic head injury. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Winchester Crown Court heard that Treadwell had mistaken Johnstone for her ex-partner, Joshua Lovell, who also rode an e-bike. The collision occurred on Moore Avenue…

A gunman who disguised himself as a Deliveroo rider to carry out a series of shootings across west London has been jailed for 38 years. Jazz Reid, 33, left a father paralysed and an eight-year-old girl with a bullet permanently lodged in her body during a calculated campaign of violence spanning six weeks. Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC imposed the lengthy sentence at the Old Bailey, telling the court that no punishment could remediate the suffering inflicted on the family. The Attacks Reid launched his first attack on 9 October 2024, firing two shots at a home in Notting Hill. The…

An Australian national has died following a collision with a marked Metropolitan Police vehicle as it responded to an emergency call in south London.David Clark, aged 35, was pronounced dead at the scene on Borough High Street in Southwark shortly after 12:30am on January 7. The father of an infant daughter had been living in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, though some reports describe him as residing in nearby Winteringham, North Lincolnshire.The collision occurred at the junction of Great Suffolk Street and Trinity Street as two marked police vehicles travelled south with sirens and emergency lights activated. According to the Independent Office for…

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has expelled Robert Jenrick from the Shadow Cabinet and suspended his party membership after receiving what she described as “clear, irrefutable evidence” of a secret plot to defect to Reform UK.The former Shadow Justice Secretary was removed with immediate effect this morning, with Ms Badenoch also withdrawing the party whip in a swift and decisive action. She stated that Mr Jenrick had been planning to defect “in a way designed to be as damaging as possible to his Shadow Cabinet colleagues and the wider Conservative Party”.The dismissal marks one of the most significant disciplinary actions…

The British government has temporarily shut its embassy in Tehran amid escalating tensions, it was announced on Tuesday. A government spokesperson confirmed to Politico that the mission would now operate remotely. “We have temporarily closed the British Embassy in Tehran, this will now operate remotely,” the spokesperson said. The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice to reflect the consular change, according to the spokesperson. Protests Outside Embassy The closure comes as pro-regime activists staged demonstrations outside the British embassy in Tehran. Protesters were seen burning Israeli and US flags during the gatherings. Tensions continue to simmer in the Iranian…