Author: James Whitmore

A 35-year-old east London woman has been sentenced to nine months in prison after carrying out a violent and prolonged assault on a lone passenger travelling on the Central line late at night, stealing cash from his wallet and leaving him with a broken phone. Gloria Makanjuola, of Cranbrook Road in Ilford, pleaded guilty to assault and attempted theft ahead of her sentencing at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday 19 February. The incident took place in the early hours of Saturday 4 March 2023, as the victim travelled eastbound toward Hainault reading a newspaper. Makanjuola sat beside him and asked…

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has confirmed he passed information about Lord Mandelson to the Metropolitan Police ahead of the peer’s arrest on Monday, telling MPs he acted in “good faith” and described it as “regrettable” that the matter had become public.The BBC understands Sir Lindsay received information during a visit to the British Virgin Islands last week suggesting Lord Mandelson was planning to travel there, and passed that on to police. This is believed to have contributed to the decision to take the peer into custody rather than wait for a previously arranged voluntary interview.Mandelson’s legal team have pushed…

British Transport Police are appealing for the public’s help identifying six men caught on CCTV following a violent assault on a couple at one of London’s busiest Underground stations.The attack took place at King’s Cross station at around 6:30am on Sunday 11 January, on the Victoria line platform. The trouble began when a member of a group directed an insult at the couple as they walked onto the platform. A sustained assault followed, during which the man was punched and kicked repeatedly by multiple attackers. He sustained several cuts to his face and had hair wrenched from his head. When…

A senior Metropolitan Police officer has been dismissed and permanently barred from working in policing after a disciplinary panel found he repeatedly lied about his qualifications and drove marked patrol cars at high speed on blue lights without any authorisation to do so. Chief Inspector Andrew Du, based at the Met’s Central North Command Unit, faced three allegations at a misconduct hearing that concluded on Monday. All three were found proven, with the panel determining the conduct amounted to gross misconduct serious enough to warrant immediate dismissal. The hearing established that on more than one occasion Du drove a marked…

An off-duty British Transport Police detective noticed something unusual on a King’s Cross Underground platform on 11 March 2025 — a man sitting with a suitcase that had holes in it and was emitting a green flash. That chance observation brought down a fraud operation that had been sending scam texts to Tube passengers and laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds through gift cards. Four men have now been sentenced at Inner London Crown Court after the gang was found to have wheeled homemade SMS blasting devices through London Underground stations inside suitcases, bombarding nearby passengers with fake parcel delivery…

A major burst water main has caused significant flooding across a stretch of north London, prompting a large emergency response and the opening of a rest centre for residents unable to remain in their homes. The London Fire Brigade was called to the scene in Islington at around 2:45pm, with six fire engines and approximately 40 firefighters deployed to deal with floodwater affecting the area between Caledonian Road and Twyford Street, running to the junction of Thornhill Bridge Wharf and Caledonian Road. The burst main measures 30 inches in diameter, and the volume of water released has been significant enough…

Criminal proceedings against a former Sussex Police officer have been dismissed after the Crown Prosecution Service chose not to pursue the case at trial.Ex-PC Dale Hughes had been due to appear before a court on 2 February to face charges of assaulting two members of the public, being drunk and disorderly, and using threatening behaviour to commit harassment. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. The alleged incident took place in Worthing on 2 December 2023 while Hughes was off duty. He resigned from the force in May 2024.With the CPS offering no evidence, the case was dismissed and…

A mother and father are due in court today charged with the murder of their infant son, weeks after the three-month-old was rushed to hospital with serious injuries following an emergency call to the family’s North Finchley address.Police and the London Ambulance Service were called to a property on Kingsway on the morning of Friday 30 January after reports of an unresponsive baby boy. Paramedics carried out emergency first aid at the scene before the infant, referred to throughout the investigation as Baby A, was taken to hospital with significant injuries.Both parents were arrested the same day on suspicion of…

Workers responsible for scrutinising the Metropolitan Police and shaping London’s public safety strategy are set to walk out for three consecutive days this week in a dispute over pay.Staff at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, known as MOPAC, who are members of the PCS union will strike on Monday 24, Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 February after a ballot returned a 90% vote in favour of industrial action.The dispute centres on a 2% pay award for 2025 to 2026, which the PCS union says amounts to a cut in real terms and represents the smallest increase handed to…

An American who divides his time between the United Kingdom and Spain has gone viral after calling out five widespread myths that his fellow countrymen believe about British life — and some of them may surprise you. Zach Lincoln, who posted the video on Instagram, was quick to add that not every American holds these views, given the sheer size of the country. But he insisted the misconceptions were common enough to be worth addressing head-on. The claim he tackled first was arguably the most persistent — that British food is terrible. Zach put the myth down to an outdated…