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The man accused of a chemical attack on a mother and her two young children in south London was in a relationship with the woman, a relative of the suspect has told Sky News.

The close relative also said they would hand the suspect in to the police themselves if they had to.

Abdul Ezedi, 35, has been urged by police to hand himself in after going on the run following the attack involving a corrosive alkaline substance in Clapham on Wednesday.

It’s now known twelve people were injured, including a mother, 31, and her two daughters, aged three and eight. All three remain in hospital, with the mother’s injuries thought to be “life-changing”.

CCTV images released by police on Friday showed Ezedi, with what appeared to be extensive injuries to the right side of his face.

A close relative to the suspect has told Sky News that they are “worried about” him and they want to “find out if he is alive or dead”.

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How did Clapham chemical attack unfold?

“His injury is very bad and he needs medical attention,” they said.

The relative said they are planning to travel from London to Newcastle, where Ezedi is understood to live, to try to find him.

“I will bring him in by myself if I have to,” they added.

Ezedi arrived in the UK on a lorry in 2016 after fleeing Afghanistan. After two failed attempts, his asylum claim to stay in the UK was granted in 2020.

Read more:
Footage emerges of chemical attack
Attack was ‘appalling’ – home secretary
Timeline of suspect’s movements

‘Checking if he was received into the Catholic faith’

He was allowed to stay in the country after a priest confirmed he had converted to Christianity and was “wholly committed” to his new religion, Sky News understands.

An asylum seeker can claim asylum in the UK on the basis of religious persecution in their native country.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle has confirmed to Sky News that Ezedi did visit the diocesan Justice and Peace Refugee Project – a Catholic charity which helps those who come to them in need.

They said they are currently “in the process of checking if this individual was received into the Catholic faith in any of our parishes, and have so far found nothing to support that. We are also investigating whether he was helped in other ways.

“The Diocese will assist the police investigations in any way we can.”

‘We need the full picture’

Growing up in Afghanistan, the relative described Ezedi as “a quiet, good person”, “who cares about everyone”.

The relative believes the allegations made against him seem out of character.

“We need to know the full picture, what really happened,” they said.

Ezedi was handed a suspended sentence for a sexual offence in Newcastle in 2018 and was discharged from probation supervision two years later.

When asked about this offence, the relative said: “This isn’t the man I know, I don’t believe he would do that kind of thing.”

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Nationwide police operation on grooming gangs announced

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Nationwide police operation on grooming gangs announced

A nationwide police operation to track down those in grooming gangs has been announced by the Home Office.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) will target those who have sexually exploited children as part of a grooming gang, and will investigate cases that were not previously progressed.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement: “The vulnerable young girls who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of groups of adult men have now grown into brave women who are rightly demanding justice for what they went through when they were just children.

“Not enough people listened to them then. That was wrong and unforgivable. We are changing that now.

“More than 800 grooming gang cases have already been identified by police after I asked them to look again at cases which had closed too early.

“Now we are asking the National Crime Agency to lead a major nationwide operation to track down more perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

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Starmer to launch new grooming gang inquiry

The NCA will work in partnership with police forces around the country and specialist officers from the Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce, Operation Hydrant – which supports police forces to address all complex and high-profile cases of child sexual abuse – and the Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer announced a national inquiry into child sex abuse on Saturday, ahead of the release of a government-requested audit into the scale of grooming gangs across the country, which concluded a nationwide probe was necessary.

The prime minister previously argued a national inquiry was not necessary, but changed his view following an audit into group-based child sexual abuse led by Baroness Casey, set to be published next week.

Ms Cooper is set to address parliament on Monday about the findings of the near 200-page report, which is expected to warn that white British girls were “institutionally ignored for fear of racism”.

One person familiar with the report said it details the institutional failures in treating young girls and cites a decade of lost action from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), set up in 2014 to investigate grooming gangs in Rotherham.

The report is also expected to link illegal immigration with the exploitation of young girls.

Read more:
Telford child abuse victims speak out
What we know about grooming gangs, from the data
The women who blew whistle on Rotherham

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said on Saturday that Sir Keir should recognise “he made a mistake and apologise for six wasted months”.

Speaking to Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Chancellor Rachel Reeves refused to say if the government will apologise for dismissing calls for a national public inquiry into grooming gangs.

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Rachel Reeves on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips

She said: “What is the most important thing here? It is the victims, and it’s not people’s hurt feelings about how they have been spoken about.”

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Career spy Blaise Metreweli to become first woman to head MI6

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Career spy Blaise Metreweli to become first woman to head MI6

Career spy Blaise Metreweli will become the first woman to head MI6 in a “historic appointment”, the prime minister has announced.

She will take over from Sir Richard Moore as the 18th Chief, also known as “C”, when he steps down in the autumn.

“The historic appointment of Blaise Metreweli comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital,” Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement released on Sunday night.

“The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale – be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services.”

Of the other main spy agencies, GCHQ is also under female command for the first time.

Anne Keast-Butler took on the role in 2023, while MI5 has previously twice been led by a woman.

Until now, a female spy chief had only headed MI6 – also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) – in the James Bond movies.

A motorboat passes by the MI6 building in Vauxhall, London. Pic: Reuters
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Blaise Metreweli is the first woman to be named head of MI6. Pic: Reuters

Dame Judi Dench held the fictional role – called “M” in the films instead of “C” – between 1995 and 2015.

Ms Metreweli currently serves as “Q”, one of four director generals inside MI6.

The position – also made famous by the James Bond films, with the fictional “Q” producing an array of spy gadgets – means she is responsible for technology and innovation.

Ms Metreweli, a Cambridge graduate, joined MI6 in 1999.

Unlike the outgoing chief, who spent some of his service as a regular diplomat in the foreign office, including as ambassador to Turkey, she has spent her entire career as an intelligence officer.

Much of that time was dedicated to operational roles in the Middle East and Europe.

Ms Metreweli, who is highly regarded by colleagues, also worked as a director at MI5.

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In a statement, she said she was “proud and honoured to be asked to lead my service”.

“MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas,” she said.

“I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners.”

Sir Richard said: “Blaise is a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader, and one of our foremost thinkers on technology. I am excited to welcome her as the first female head of MI6.”

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Woman, 23, dies after falling in water at beauty spot in Scottish Highlands

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Woman, 23, dies after falling in water at beauty spot in Scottish Highlands

A woman has died after falling into the water at a popular beauty spot in the Scottish Highlands.

The 23-year-old had fallen into the water in the Rogie Falls area of Wester Ross.

Police Scotland confirmed emergency services attended the scene after being called at 1.45pm on Saturday.

“However, [she] was pronounced dead at the scene,” a spokesperson said.

“There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

Rogie Falls are a series of waterfalls on the Black Water, a river in Ross-shire in the Highlands of Scotland. They are a popular attraction for tourists on Scotland’s North Coast 500 road trip.

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