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A Metropolitan Police officer who used duct tape to restrain a woman asked her “who are you going to tell? I am the police”, a court has heard.

PC Sam Grigg, 36, tied his flatmate to the sofa by her wrists and ankles and later hurt her twice with a kitchen knife as he cut her free, Kingston Crown Court heard.

The young woman said she “100% thought” she was going to be raped by Grigg during what was described as “10 minutes of terror”.

Grigg was sacked from the Met after being charged and previously pleading guilty at the same court to false imprisonment and assault against the woman.

Ahead of his sentencing on Friday afternoon, the court heard the officer, who was not on duty at the time, approached his flatmate in the kitchen of the townhouse they shared in Twickenham, southeast London, while their other flatmates were out on 2 December last year.

Prosecutor Alexander Agbamu said Grigg grabbed the woman’s wrists and pulled her towards him before bending her over the sofa and tying her ankles together and taping over her mouth.

At one point Grigg left to answer the door before “smiling” down at her as she attempted to free herself by edging towards a drawer she believed might have a knife inside.

The woman asked him to remove the bindings and Grigg replied: “If you ask nicely, I’ll take them off.”

He eventually got a knife from the kitchen and used it to cut the tape, nicking her ankle and wrist in the process.

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‘Who are you going to tell?’

She asked him to avoid slicing her again after the first cut, to which Grigg said: “What will you do if I do… Who are you going to tell? I am the police”.

One of the first things the woman did after the assault was message a friend: “I genuinely, like 100%, thought he was going to rape me.”

Grigg was arrested mid-shift at Mitcham Police Station and a search of his bedroom uncovered a bag of cable ties, several pairs of handcuffs – including two which were police-issue – bundles of rope, a gig and a ball, and four silk cloths.

Victim impact statement

Mr Agbamu said since the attack the woman has struggled to sleep, did not eat for a long time and has self-harmed.

He said “aggravating factors” included “the pleasure the defendant seemed to derive from the incident”, his position as a police officer and the “clear sexual overtone” of the attack.

Defending, John Howey said: “He (Grigg) says it would not have progressed beyond the tying up phase to rape or any other form of sexual assault.”

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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Boy dies after ‘getting into difficulty’ in lake in southeast London

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Boy dies after 'getting into difficulty' in lake in southeast London

A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.

“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.

The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.

In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.

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google street view inside Beckenham Place park, Lewisham where a 16 y/o boy is missing after getting into difficulty in a lake
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Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.

It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.

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