Author: James Whitmore

Counter-terrorism officers have arrested three men on suspicion of assisting Chinese intelligence, in a coordinated operation that saw simultaneous raids carried out across England, Wales and Scotland.The arrests took place on Wednesday 4 March as part of a proactive investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policing London. All three men were detained on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service under section 3 of the National Security Act 2023 — with police confirming the country in question is China.A 39-year-old man was arrested at an address in London, a 68-year-old man was detained at a property in Powys, Wales, and a…

A growing number of lorries carrying meat and dairy products into Britain are bypassing mandatory biosecurity checks, raising fears that deadly animal diseases could enter the country unchallenged, a parliamentary committee has warned.The problem centres on the post-Brexit border inspection system at Dover, where commercial vehicles carrying animal products are not checked at the port itself but are instead directed 22 miles away to a government control post at Sevington, near Ashford in Kent. Lorries flagged for inspection are required to make their own way there — but an increasing number are simply not showing up.Figures provided by the Department…

Man Stabbed On South London Street Dies In Hospital As Two Held On Suspicion Of MurderA man in his twenties has died after being stabbed on a residential street in Battersea, with homicide detectives now leading the investigation and two suspects currently in custody.The stabbing took place on Thessaly Road on the evening of Monday, 2 March. Emergency services were alerted shortly after 6pm, with officers arriving alongside London Ambulance Service paramedics to find the victim with serious knife wounds. He was rushed to hospital in a life-threatening condition but could not be saved, and was pronounced dead by medical…

Commuters and weekend travellers across east and north London face a string of service suspensions this month, with Transport for London confirming a series of planned closures affecting the Overground network and parts of the Elizabeth line.The disruption, linked to ongoing engineering and track renewal work being carried out by both TfL and Network Rail, will run across multiple weekends in March — with some routes facing complete shutdowns and others running at significantly reduced frequency.Which lines are affected and when?The Liberty line, which runs between Romford and Upminster, faces the most repeated disruption. It will be closed on six…

Met Chief Marks Five Years Since Sarah Everard’s Murder With Vow to Keep Cleaning Up ForceFive years on from the murder of Sarah Everard, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has set out how the force has overhauled its vetting and misconduct processes — and acknowledged that work to rebuild trust with women and girls is far from finished.Everard, 33, was abducted, raped and murdered in March 2021 by Wayne Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police officer who used his warrant card to make a false arrest. The case triggered widespread public outrage and prompted urgent scrutiny of standards inside one…

A 43-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after police officers responding to an address in south-east London were attacked with axes and bitten by a dog during what became a violent confrontation.Emergency response officers from the Central South command unit attended a property on Marine Street in the Dickens Estate, Bermondsey, at around 3:20pm on Sunday 1 March in connection with an ongoing investigation. On arrival, two officers were bitten by a dog before one of them was then attacked by a man wielding axes.The man was Tasered by officers at the scene and taken into custody. A…

Detectives investigating the death of a man at a west London skip yard have named a suspect they believe may hold vital information and are appealing for the public’s help to locate him, six months after the incident.Yadvinder Satnam Singh, 34, died at a yard on Station Approach in Greenford on 7 August 2025 after being struck by a front loader, a type of heavy plant machinery. Emergency services were called at 7:27am but paramedics were unable to save him and he was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination confirmed he had died from multiple injuries consistent with…

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has committed £20 million to reverse a decline in bus passenger numbers, with Transport for London set to explore fare reductions at certain times of day and potentially offering free travel on newly launched services.The investment, described as fares innovation funding, comes after bus passenger numbers fell for the first time since the pandemic last year, dropping from 1.869 billion journeys to 1.842 billion. Transport watchdog London TravelWatch attributed the decline largely to slowing bus speeds, which fell to an average of 9.17mph in 2024-25, down from 10.27mph four years earlier. The watchdog has estimated…

A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Camron Smith, almost five years after the 26-year-old was fatally stabbed in Croydon.The suspect was arrested in Croydon on Friday 27 February and remains in police custody. Camron was found with stab wounds at an address in Bracken Avenue, Croydon, in the early hours of 1 July 2021, after officers were called just before 1am. Despite treatment at the scene by police and the London Ambulance Service, he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Townsend from Specialist Crime South said the arrest demonstrated the force’s continued commitment…

Plans to build 110 homes on farmland near Epsom Downs Racecourse have been refused by the local planning committee, following significant opposition from residents, campaigners and the horse racing industry.Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s planning committee voted to reject the outline application submitted by developer Fairfax Aspire for land on Langley Vale Road on Thursday, overturning a recommendation from council officers who had backed the scheme.The proposal drew 364 written objections and an online petition signed by more than 2,000 people. Among the formal objectors was The Jockey Club, which owns Epsom Downs Racecourse and warned the development would pose…