Author: James Whitmore

Five people have been charged with murder following the death of a 23-year-old man at a service station in County Durham. Daniel Ambler died following an incident at the Asda Express service station in Seaham on the afternoon of Thursday, 15 January. Durham Constabulary launched a murder investigation and subsequently charged five individuals in connection with his death. Barry Anderson, aged 51, Ashton Anderson, aged 19, and Barry Logan Anderson, aged 18, have each been charged with murder and violent disorder. Two 17-year-old boys, who cannot be named due to their age, face identical charges. All five are scheduled to…

A 38-year-old man has been hospitalised following a stabbing in South London during the early hours of Sunday morning. Metropolitan Police officers responded to reports of a knife attack on Mitcham Road in Tooting at around 3:25am on January 18. The victim was found at the scene and rushed to accident and emergency for treatment. A Met Police spokesperson stated: “Police officers responded to reports of a stabbing on Mitcham Road in Tooting this morning, Sunday January 18, at 3.25am. Officers found one victim, a man aged 38, at the scene. He was taken to hospital where his injuries have…

A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for a pre-meditated knife attack on a probation officer that left her with serious injuries requiring six weeks of hospital treatment. Ryan Gee, 35, of no fixed abode, pulled a large kitchen knife and black replica handgun from his rucksack during a supervision meeting at Preston Probation office in The Pavilions, Ashton-on-Ribble, on the afternoon of 22 July 2025. The female probation officer, a woman in her 30s and mother of two, suffered serious stab wounds to her shoulder, under her armpit, stomach and chest. She required an immediate operation due to…

Two men have been arrested following a police pursuit that ended when their car collided with a London bus in Islington, after reports of a knifepoint robbery in East London. Metropolitan Police officers pursued the vehicle on Saturday, January 17, deploying a police helicopter after receiving reports of a robbery in Mile End Road, Whitechapel, earlier the same day. The chase concluded at around 2:15pm when the car smashed into a route 38 bus on City Road near Angel Tube station in North London. Both the car driver, a man in his 30s, and the bus driver sustained minor injuries…

Sir Keir Starmer has branded US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Britain and other NATO allies as “completely wrong,” as tensions escalate over Greenland’s future. The Prime Minister defended the sovereignty of the Danish territory after Mr Trump announced sweeping 10% tariffs on goods from the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland, set to take effect on February 1, 2026. According to the President’s announcement, these tariffs will rise to 25% on June 1, 2026, and remain in place until a deal is reached for the complete US purchase of Greenland. Sir Keir…

Five food businesses in Croydon have been ordered to close after council inspectors discovered serious pest infestations posing risks to public health. The closures follow investigations by Croydon Council’s food safety team, which found cockroach, rat and mouse infestations across the premises. Each establishment has been ordered to pay the council’s costs. Catch Star Chippy at 85 Stoats Nest Road in Coulsdon was found to have an active cockroach infestation throughout the premises, resulting in a serious risk of food contamination. The business was ordered to pay costs of £1,382.93. Chicago Pizza, Kebab and Burgers at 206b Addington Road in…

The body of a 15-year-old girl who was swept into the sea during a rescue attempt that claimed two lives has been recovered from a beach in East Yorkshire. Grace Keeling, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, had been missing for nearly two weeks following the incident at Withernsea on 2 January. Her body was discovered among rocks on the beach at 8.30am on Thursday and was safely recovered on Saturday morning. The teenager’s mother, Sarah Keeling, 45, and a local resident, Mark Ratcliffe, 67, both died after entering the water in an attempt to save Grace during rough weather conditions. The tragedy…

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…