Man arrested on suspicion of assisting Clapham chemical attack suspect – as new sighting reported

A man has been arrested on suspicion of “hiding” the Clapham chemical attack suspect.

The 22-year-old man was arrested on Monday morning for allegedly assisting an offender and has been released on bail.

Police have said the manhunt for Abdul Ezedi – the suspect in the attack – is working at a “considerable pace”, with more than 100 officers across the UK involved.

They will release new CCTV footage of him on Southwark Bridge, central London, on Wednesday evening, which is when he was last seen, they said, at around 9.50pm.

Follow live: Manhunt search in fifth day

They have recovered Ezedi’s mobile phone from the car involved in the incident and are analysing it to establish the relationship between him and the victim.

However, a manhunt is always more difficult when the suspect doesn’t have a mobile phone with them, they said.

They are not sure how long Ezedi has known the woman injured in the attack or if they were in a relationship, but said it is vital for them to understand how they knew each other.

A close relative of the suspect has told Sky News they were in a relationship.

Police said she has “significant facial injuries” and could lose sight in her right eye. She is still sedated in a critical but stable condition.

Police have narrowed down the substance used to “one or two alkalines” and also confirmed that Ezedi is not the father of the children who were injured in the attack.

Twelve people were injured in total in the attack involving a corrosive substance in Clapham, southwest London, on Wednesday 31 January, including the woman, 31, and her two daughters, aged three and eight, who have been discharged from hospital.

Ezedi, 35, has been urged by police to hand himself in after going on the run following the attack.

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for information on Ezedi, amid an ongoing national manhunt, with the Metropolitan Police working with the British Transport Police and officers with Northumbria Police in Newcastle, where Ezedi lived.

Detectives said they believe he is either being hidden by someone or has come to harm, and reiterated that anyone harbouring him would be committing a criminal offence.

If the suspect is being kept at one address, and being fed, then the search could take several weeks, police added.

The investigation is being staffed as if it was a murder hunt or a counter-terror operation, and more than 200 calls have been received from members of the public with potential sightings, but they have since been discounted.

The suspect travelled on the London Underground using his bank card on Wednesday night, police said, but the card has not been used since Wednesday.

There is no evidence to suggest Ezedi had planned to go on the run, police said.

Earlier on Monday, investigators published new footage showing Ezedi shopping for groceries and smiling in Newcastle the day before his alleged chemical attack.