Police searching for the suspect in the Kent pub shooting on Valentine’s Day have recovered a body from the River Thames.

Lisa Smith, 43, was killed after she was shot outside The Three Horseshoes in Knockholt on the evening of Friday 14 February.

Later that night, the suspect, named as Edvard Smith, was believed to have fallen into the Thames from the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge which crosses the river at Dartford 17 miles away.

Around that time, the suspect’s car containing a handgun was found abandoned on the bridge and a man was seen on the wrong side of the barrier.

About a week after the shooting, Kent Police said they believed Edvard Smith had died after falling into the water.

The force has now said a body was found in the Thames near Rainham in Essex on Friday afternoon. It has not been formally identified but the suspect’s family have been told of the development.

Edvard Smith was known to Ms Smith and there had been no prior contact between the police and the victim or suspect.

‘So much commotion’

Following the shooting, the landlady of The Three Horseshoes, Michelle Thomas, told Sky News she heard two loud bangs that she initially “thought were fireworks” on the night of the attack.

She said there was “so much commotion – screaming, shouting, crying” and the shooting had left the community in “absolute shock”.

She said Ms Smith, from Slough, had been to the pub before, “mostly in the summer” but “wasn’t a regular”.

Ms Thomas also said about 30 people were at the pub for dinner, while 20 more were in the bar as the incident unfolded just after 7pm.

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Kent Police said on Saturday: “A body has been recovered by police from the River Thames, which is being linked to a murder investigation in Knockholt.

“On Friday 14 February 2025, Lisa Smith, 43, was killed after she was shot outside a pub in Main Road. The suspect was known to Lisa and later that evening officers found his car abandoned on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. Enquiries established he had fallen into the water below.

“At around 3.45pm on Friday 7 March, a body was located near Rainham, Essex. Formal identification has not yet taken place; however, the man’s family have been informed.”

Parts of the UK are expected to be hotter than the Balearic Islands, Costa del Sol and the Amalfi Coast this weekend.

The country is set to reach the highest temperatures of the year so far, with central England heating up to 20C on Sunday.

Saturday is also set to reach temperatures in the high teens, with East Anglia, northwest England, the north Midlands and North Wales hitting 18-19C, the Met Office said.

Those temperatures are believed to be above average for this time of year.

Get the latest forecast for your area here

Craig Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said there are a “few exceptions” to the “fine and sunny” weekend weather, including areas in the far north of Scotland, but those areas will still be generally dry and sunny.

Meanwhile, popular holiday destinations in Europe are expected to record cooler temperatures.

A high of 15C is forecast this weekend for Marbella on the south coast of Spain, a maximum of 17C is expected in Ibiza, and 18C is forecast for Sorrento on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.

Sky News meteorologist Chris England said the warm weekend is not expected to last, with conditions “cooling off from the North on Sunday night and through Monday”.

A spell of rain will move south across the country early next week, bringing the return of a few wintry showers in the North and North East.

“While there is uncertainty in the extent of rain and wintry showers through the middle of next week, there is higher confidence that below average temperatures will continue through the week, bringing a very different feel to the mild weather over the weekend,” deputy chief meteorologist Chris Bulmer said.

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Temperatures will drop back below average across the UK from Tuesday, according to the Met Office.

Rural spots in Scotland could plummet as low as -4C, with maximum daytime temperatures typically between 5-8C.

A man who climbed up the tower housing Big Ben in an apparent protest has now come down.

The barefoot man spent most of the day on a ledge several metres up the Elizabeth Tower holding a Palestinian flag at the Palace of Westminster in central London.

Westminster Police said the man was arrested once he reached the ground.

During Saturday, negotiators and emergency crews on a cherry picker had been talking to the man who was several feet away, appealing for him to come down.

He earlier told negotiators he would come down “on his own terms”.

The Metropolitan Police said they were called to the scene in central London at 7.24am on Saturday.

Photographs showed the man sat on the ledge with the flag and a keffiyeh, a headdress worn by men in the Middle East, wrapped around the decorative stonework on the tower.

He shared a number of videos on Instagram during his 16-and-a-half-hours on the tower, suggesting in one that he planned to stay there for three and a half days.

A large red stain which appeared to be blood could be seen on the side of the tower around the climber’s feet.

All of Westminster Bridge was closed on Saturday morning as emergency services responded to the incident. Parliamentary tours were also cancelled.

Westminster Police added at around 1am on Sunday: “This has been a protracted incident due to the specifics of where the man was located and the need to ensure the safety of our officers, the individual and the wider public.

“We worked with other agencies including the London Fire Brigade and deployed specialist officers to bring this incident to a close as quickly as possible whilst minimising risk to life.

“We have been in close liaison with the Parliamentary Estate throughout and all roads have been reopened.”

Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty said there needs to be an explanation about how the man got into the parliamentary estate.

He said: “Every day in Parliament I see dozens of armed police officers patrolling Portcullis House and the parliamentary estate. Where were they today?

“On Monday there needs to be a full explanation to MPs and staff as to how this protester was able to evade security so easily.”

A parliamentary spokesperson earlier said: “We are aware of an incident on the Parliamentary Estate this morning, which is being handled by the Metropolitan Police, assisted by the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service.

“Parliament takes security extremely seriously, however we do not comment on the specifics of our security measures or mitigations. As a result of this incident, tours of the Parliamentary Estate today have unfortunately had to be cancelled.”