Men armed with hammers attack London shop linked to celebrity antiques expert

Published

4 weeks ago

March 30, 2024

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Three people have been injured after men armed with hammers stole thousands of pounds worth of jewellery from a west London shop linked to celebrity antiques expert Ian Towning.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement they were called to a premises on Sydney Street, just off the King’s Road in Chelsea at 12.11pm on Tuesday.

Two men damaged property inside the shop and stole thousands of pounds worth of jewellery, police said.

Three people were taken to hospital to receive treatment after they sustained injuries during the robbery, the force added.

Their injuries were said to be non-life-threatening.

The robbery is understood to have taken place at Bourbon Hanby Antiques Arcade, where Mr Towning was a director until at least January last year, according to Companies House filings.

Mr Towning, 76, has appeared as an antiques expert on ITV‘s Dickinson’s Real Deal and Posh Pawn on Channel 4.

He also has an active Instagram page where he promotes new antique items that have arrived at his shop.

He first opened his antiques store at the Chelsea Antiques Market in 1976 before opening the Bourbon Hanby Arcade in 1997.

A Bourbon Hanby employee told Sky News they had no comment at this time.

The store was also robbed in 2008, when three men with sledgehammers and a gun left Mr Towning badly injured.

In a social media post in 2014, Mr Towning said he received a phone call from one of the men who had attacked him six years earlier.

Mr Towning wrote: “He said that he had changed, and that he was only 16 years old at the time, and that his life in prison (he served four of eight years) had made a new man of him, he was now married and settled with a job.

“He then asked me to forgive him for what he had done. I said that I had moved on, I had my jaw repaired and my teeth fixed and that life goes on and yes I did forgive him and I hold no malice towards him.”

Stuart Fisher, a chef at the Market Place Restaurant, said he had been shown CCTV of Tuesday’s incident.

He said the robbers had what looked like a “clawhammer and a 5lb hammer”.

The 53-year-old added: “Two guys came in and started smashing up the counters.

“One of them went for one of the men in the shop, hit him with the hammer on the back of the head.

“[The victims] were literally on the floor cowering.

“On the way out, the one guy went to have another go [at the victims] and the other pulled him off.”

He added that the suspects were masked.

Mr Fisher said there were five or six police cars at the scene after the robbery, including armed officers.

He added: “The area’s changed a lot over the last 20 years.”

Another worker from a shop, who did not wish to be named, said hearing about the incident had been “so scary”.

She said: “I don’t think anywhere in London is safe at all.

“I’ve lived here for 20 years and never felt safe.

“I’m scared to let my kid go out to play.

“[This is] the most expensive borough in London and this happens in the middle of the day, it’s unbelievable.”

Detective Sergeant Richard Hall, who is leading the investigation, said: “I am appealing to the public to help us identify any potential witnesses who may have seen the incident unfold.

“I am particularly keen to be provided with any dashcam footage or CCTV from the local area at the time. This may help us find our suspects.

“If you know anything, or have witnessed anything suspicious in the Sydney Street area at the time, then please come forward to police by calling 101 stating CAD 2933/26Mar.”

UK

More human remains found in two locations as part of Salford torso inquiry

Published

9 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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More human remains found in two locations as part of Salford torso inquiry

More human remains have been found in two locations as part of an investigation that started when a man’s torso was discovered in Salford.

Police believe the torso belongs to a man in his 60s and have informed his family about his death, but have not yet identified him publicly.

In a news conference today, officers revealed the victim is believed to have known two men who are currently in custody. They are believed to have lived together.

Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes said they were looking at four crime scenes in Salford and the Greater Manchester area.

The human remains discovered over the last two days were found at Salford’s Blackleach Reservoir and Linnyshaw Colliery Wood.

Officers had already identified the two scenes before the remains were found and were “on route to the Colliery Wood” when a member of the public called to say they had found a package, said Det Supt Hughes.

Police officers found the other remains at the reservoir today while searching the area.

“We are very confident it is the same victim,” Det Supt Hughes added.

The victim is believed to have died in late March.

Police are searching a warehouse in Bury where “items were stored after this incident without the knowledge of occupants of that warehouse,” said Det Supt Hughes.

They’re also searching a house in Winton where the victim “was believed to have lived with the two men in custody”.

The first remains – consisting of the bottom of the back, buttocks and thigh – were found in clear plastic by a passer-by at Kersal Dale Wetlands in Salford, Greater Manchester, on 4 April.

Two men, aged 42 and 68, from Salford, who are believed to be known to each other, were arrested on suspicion of murder on 25 April, GMP said, after officers trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage.

The 42-year-old was arrested after officers stormed a bus in Eccles Old Road around midday, the force said.

The other man was later arrested at an address in Worsley Road.

A 20-year-old man previously arrested on suspicion of murder was later released on bail pending further inquiries.

“It is too soon to rule out [looking for other suspects] but we’re confident at this time that we have the right two suspects in custody,” said Det Supt Hughes.

Detectives are still appealing the public for any information related to the crime and want to hear from witnesses, including dog walkers, who were in the area between 6am and 6pm on the day a passer-by made the original grim discovery.

More than 100 officers searched the Kersal Dale area for 12 days looking for evidence, working with an underwater search team and dogs before lifting the crime scene on 17 April.

UK

Small boat migrant arrivals by late April at highest level ever

Published

10 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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Small boat migrant arrivals by late April at highest level ever

The number of migrants that have crossed the Channel in small boats during the first four months of the year is at its highest ever level.

Some 7,167 people have arrived on UK shores after travelling by small boat from the continent between 1 January to 27 April, with 902 entering just this past week

This compares to 5,745 for the same period last year. The previous record was 6,691 in 2022.

Politics latest: Key voter on Humza Yousaf’s future will make proposals to ‘help him out of a tight corner’

The figures come after Rishi Sunak has staked much of his political future on getting the number of migrant boat crossings down.

On Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme he said migrants travelling to Ireland after arriving in the UK on small boats was a sign the Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent.

“People are worried about coming here and that demonstrates exactly what I’m saying,” he told Sky News.

“If people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay there, they are much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”

However, the news that migrants are crossing from Northern Ireland into the Republic has sparked an outcry in the country, and prompted the government in Dublin to announce they are planning emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to Britain.

More than 80% of recent arrivals in the republic came via the land border with Northern Ireland, Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week.

Stopping the boats was one of the government’s five priorities set out by the prime minister after he took office in 2023.

The latest figures have been seized upon by Labour, with shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock saying: “This is the blunt reality behind all of Rishi Sunak’s empty boasts: more people have arrived by small boats so far this year than ever before and more people are having to be rescued.

“What will it take for Rishi Sunak to wake up and realise that his plan is not working?

“We desperately need a Labour government in place to get a grip of this issue.

“Our plan would strengthen Britain’s border security, crush the smuggling gangs, clear the asylum backlog, end hotel use, and set up a new returns and enforcement unit so those with no right to be in the UK are swiftly returned.”

Earlier this week, the prime minister said the government would “begin the process of removing those identified for the first flight” to Rwanda.

Mr Sunak said that they had increased detention spaces to 2,200 and had 200 caseworkers “ready and waiting” to process asylum claims.

He added that 25 courtrooms and 150 judges had been provided to deal with any legal cases quickly.

UK

Ireland pledging emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to UK in wake of Rwanda bill being passed

Published

10 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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Ireland pledging emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to UK in wake of Rwanda bill being passed

Ireland is pledging emergency legislation enabling it to send asylum seekers back to the UK.

More than 80% of recent arrivals in the republic came via the land border with Northern Ireland, Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week.

Rishi Sunak told Sky News it showed the UK’s Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent after it finally became law last week.

Ireland’s deputy prime minister has said the threat of deportation to Rwanda is causing migrants to head for Ireland instead of the UK.

Micheal Martin said the policy was already affecting Ireland because people are “fearful” of staying in the UK.

The former taoiseach told The Daily Telegraph: “Maybe that’s the impact it was designed to have.”

Simon Harris, Ireland’s latest leader, has asked Ms McEntee to “bring proposals to cabinet to amend existing law regarding the designation of safe ‘third countries’ and allowing the return of inadmissible international protection applicants to the UK”, a spokesman said.

Ms McEntee said she will be meeting UK Home Secretary James Cleverly in London on Monday.

“There are many reasons why we have seen an increase in migration towards Ireland,” she told RTE.

“My focus as minister for justice is making sure that we have an effective immigration structure and system.

“That’s why I’m introducing fast processing, that’s why I’ll have emergency legislation at cabinet this week to make sure that we can effectively return people to the UK, and that’s why I’ll be meeting with the home secretary to raise these issues on Monday.”

People are now “worried” about coming to the UK, Rishi Sunak has said.

He told Sky News: “If people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay here, they are much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”

Mr Sunak said the comments from Irish politicians show that “illegal migration is a global challenge”.

“[That] is why you’re seeing multiple countries talk about doing third country partnerships, looking at novel ways to solve this problem, and I believe [they] will follow where the UK has led,” he said.

Shadow minister Wes Streeting said it was unlikely a Labour government would bring people back from Rwanda if some are sent there.

“Once people are settled in Rwanda, they’re settled in Rwanda,” he told Sky News, adding it was doubtful that Labour would “unpick that situation”.

Regarding illegal migration in general, he said it required “putting the money that’s gone to Rwanda into the National Crime Agency so we can have proper cross-border policing to tackle the criminal gangs, speeding up the processing of decision-making, making sure we’ve got serious returns agreements with other countries”.

He added: “Those are solutions that can work.”