A 14-year-old boy has died and two police officers have “significant injuries” after an attack near a Tube station in northeast London.
A man reportedly crashed a vehicle into a house in Thurlow Gardens, a road near Hainault tube station, shortly before 7am, and then allegedly stabbed a number of people, police said in a statement this morning.
Police originally said a 13-year-old boy had died after being stabbed. They later clarified that he was 14.
Here’s everything we know.
Image: Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell reads a statement to the media. Pic: PA
Full police statement – one confirmed dead
Chief Superintendent Bell: “You will be aware that a serious incident occurred here at this location this morning. Police and ambulance services were called and deployed to a number of casualties. It is with great sadness that I confirm that one of those injured in the incident, a 13-year-old boy, has died from their injuries. He was taken to hospital after being stabbed and sadly died a short while after.
“The child’s family are being supported firstly by my local officers and now with some specialist officers and everyone across the Met is keeping them in our thoughts at this unimaginably difficult time.
“The events of this morning are truly horrific and I cannot even begin to imagine how those affected must be feeling. My thoughts are with the injured, their families and the wider community as we all begin to come to terms with what has happened and try to understand what has happened here.
“I know that there will be, clearly and understandably, a desire for answers and an explanation as to what happened. Our investigation is in its very early stages and my officers are working right now to establish the full facts as a priority. And we will share what we can, when we can, with the wider community and of course with yourselves.
“A 36-year-old is currently in custody. He was Tasered here at the scene and arrested 22 minutes after the first call was made to police shortly before 7am this morning.
“I want to confirm at present that we do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the wider public and we’re not seeking any other persons. The incident does not appear to be linked to any act of terrorism.”
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1:43
Chief superintendent Stuart Bell giving his update
The chief superintendent added: “We know now that during the incident five people were injured – three members of the public and two of my local officers who were responding to the call. Two of those members of the public remain in hospital. Thankfully, their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“The two Met police officers are also currently in hospital with wounds. Both require surgery and have significant injuries, but we believe at this stage that they are not life-threatening. I commend the incredible bravery of not just the police officers but the other emergency responders who came to this scene this morning.
“I would ask anyone with information or any footage that would help us with this investigation to share that with us and call 101, please.
“I know the families of those involved, the local and wider community and many across London will want to know why this terrible incident occurred. And it’s our job to find that out. And we will. I am committed to providing those answers when we can. And I would ask for some patience while this important work is carried out. Thank you for your time.”
He then answered questions from journalists, when he revealed the suspect was arrested at the scene and that the attack is not believed to have been targeted.
Image: Forensic investigators in Hainault. Pic: PA
Suspect is in hospital
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe said in a later update that the suspect was in hospital having suffered “injuries” when his van collided with a building.
“He has been arrested on suspicion of murder at this time,” she added.
“Given his injuries, we have been unable to interview him.”
Addressing speculation on the suspect’s background, Ms Rolfe said police have carried out “extensive checks”.
“We have found no trace of a prior incident involving him so far,” she said.
New images show suspect being tackled by police
Image: Pic: PA
Image: Pic: PA
Image: Pic: PA
‘There was a stand-off down an alley – then a woman was stabbed’
Witnesses have shared their accounts of the attack this morning.
One man, who asked not to be named, said: “They [the police] went into the alley and there seemed to be some sort of a stand-off there where I heard this huge commotion, then I heard a scream.
“From that commotion, at least one person was knifed – I think it might have been a woman because I heard a woman scream and then some sort of sobbing sounds.
“I then heard a voice say something like ‘she’s been stabbed in the face’ or ‘we need assistance’ – you know, calling for medical back-up.”
He added he also heard the words “he’s got a massive knife” or “he’s got a massive sword”.
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0:21
Footage showing the man with a sword. Credit: @ell_pht
Local resident Silvia Ganceva told Sky News she heard “voices” in the morning outside her home, and her son asked her what was happening.
She said she told him “maybe someone is fighting” as she watched from the window, adding she was “scared” to go outside after she heard police arrive.
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1:41
Witnesses describe knife attack
Another witness said he heard shrieking that “sounded like police” at the time.
“It was like ‘Stop where you are, put that down, put that down’ – that kind of thing,” they said.
“I looked out the back window because the noise was coming from back there, I saw a bloke dressed in yellow jumping over some fences… then he went down an alley like he was going back onto the street again.
“I saw a policeman and policewoman – normal coppers with the short-sleeved shirts – who chased after him and they were shouting for him to put it down.”
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0:59
Police cordon around streets after sword attack
Another witness told Sky News they saw someone being given CPR and a man running out of a house, with a hand “bleeding quite badly”.
They added: “I was driving up New North Road just after 7am, it felt eerie and strange, people were scurrying about looking around, like they were on alert for something or someone.
“I spoke to a few guys who told me a man was on the run after stabbing people.
“It was very scary and not something you expect to happen on your doorstep.”
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Graham Wettone, a former police officer and policing expert, said it’s been a “swift response” from emergency services who have “secured the area”.
He said the police officers who responded to the emergency calls had most likely just started their shifts, as 7am is usually when the overnight officers switch with daytime ones.
“That call’s come in literally on change over, about 6.54am… so they probably ran out from their briefing… straight to the venue.”
He said the first unit on the scene may not have been aware the suspect was armed with a sword, suggesting they may have only known there was a road collision or disturbance at an address.
Mr Wettone added: “It depends on the information given to the emergency operator. It may well those initial officers have then been confronted with the suspect with the sword, and then called for additional units to support them.”
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of murders.
Image: (L-R) Yostin Mosquera murdered Albert Alfonso and Paul Longworth
Mosquera’s victims were 62-year-old Albert Alfonso and his civil partner, 71-year-old Paul Longworth. It is believed that Mosquera, a 35-year-old who worked in the adult film industry, first met Mr Alfonso online.
Image: Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso walk with Mosquera from their house. Pic: Met Police
The three men struck up a friendship, the couple visited Mosquera in Colombia, and they repeatedly flew Mosquera to the UK to stay with them at their flat in London.
While the men would take day-trips to tourist attractions, like Madame Tussauds, Mr Alfonso and Mosquera would engage in extreme sex together.
But in the weeks leading up to their murders, Mosquera was clearly planning his attacks.
He looked online for a freezer and, on the day of the killings, searched for: “Where on the head is a knock fatal?”
The prosecution argued he was financially motivated.
Image: Mosquera has been convicted of two murders. Pic: Met Police
Mosquera repeatedly tried to find the price of the couple’s property in Scotts Road, Shepherd’s Bush, and stole money from Mr Alfonso after murdering him.
On 8 July 2024, Mosquera killed Mr Longworth by hitting him with a hammer, shattering his skull, before hiding his body in a divan bed.
That evening, during sex with Mr Alfonso, Mosquera stabbed him with a knife. A postmortem revealed 22 stab wounds.
Image: Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso. Pic: Met Police
All of this was recorded on cameras, which had been placed in the room by Mr Alfonso.
Mosquera then decapitated the bodies, the heads stored in a freezer which he had delivered on 9 July.
Image: A handyman hired by Mosquera loads the victims’ bodies into a van in suitcases. Pic: Met Police
The other remains were put in suitcases and on 10 July, Mosquera hired a van with a driver to transport him and the bags to Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The prosecution argued Mosquera went to Bristol with the intention of throwing the bags off the bridge.
But, struggling with their weight, Mosquera caught the attention of passers-by, telling them the cases contained car parts.
But people noticed liquid leaking from the bags – blood.
Image: Yostin Mosquera ran off after passers-by noticed the suitcases were leaking blood. Pic: Met Police
Image: Mosquera was later arrested just after 2am on 13 July. Pic: Met Police
Mosquera ran off and was later arrested at Bristol Temple Meads station on 13 July 2024 and charged with both murders.
When the case came to trial, initially at the Old Bailey and then at Woolwich Crown Court, the gruesome footage of Mr Alfonso’s murder was repeatedly played to the jury.
‘It was the worst video I have ever seen’
It is not often a murder is caught on camera.
It is even rarer when they are filmed from multiple angles, with sound.
I was at the Old Bailey for the first trial, where the recording of Mosquera killing Albert Alfonso was repeatedly played to the jury.
The two men are naked, taking part in consensual sex, which was filmed by Mr Alfonso on several cameras, a normal practice for the pair.
Unwittingly, Mr Alfonso recorded his own murder.
We see Mosquera hide the knife.
Then, when Mr Alfonso is at his most vulnerable, Mosquera calmly stabs him in the neck.
Mr Alfonso struggles against Mosquera, screaming, but is overpowered.
Mosquera cruelly taunts him, asking, “Do you like it?”
As Alfonso lay dying, Mosquera bizarrely sings and dances before going to Alfonso’s computer.
The judge warned the jury about the graphic video, reassuring them that, if they felt unable to proceed due to its content, they would be excused.
One jury member did not come back the next day and I could completely understand their discomfort.
The sound of screaming was hard to forget.
A murder is always upsetting to watch, but this felt intrusive.
While many aspects of their sexual relationship could be disturbing to an outsider, Albert Alfonso could never have predicted that his private recordings would be so publicly analysed at a trial into his own murder.
Miranda Jollie, Senior Crown Prosecutor at the CPS, said she found the video “horrific”, but maintained that it was necessary to show the video because of Mosquera’s claims.
Mosquera denied the murders, but admitted killing Mr Alfonso – his defence team argued it was manslaughter by loss of control.
However, the video evidence contradicts this claim.
It shows Mosquera had hidden the knife before sex, showing the attack was premeditated.
He was also calm as he attacked Mr Alfonso, who was taken off guard, and went to Mr Alfonso’s computer to try and steal from him as he lay dying.
In court, Mosquera argued, through a Spanish interpreter, that Mr Alfonso had repeatedly “raped him” and that Mr Longworth had been killed by Mr Alfonso.
But the prosecution argued there was no evidence to support these claims, while the couple’s relationship was unconventional, it was also “loving”, and Mr Alfonso would never have killed Mr Longworth.
The system for regulating water companies in England and Wales should be overhauled and replaced with one single body, a major review of the sector has advised.
It has recommended abolishing regulator Ofwat as well as the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), which ensures that public water supplies are safe.
The report, which includes 88 recommendations, suggests a new single integrated regulator to replace existing water watchdogs, mandatory water metering, and a social tariff for vulnerable customers.
The ability to block companies being taken over and the creation of eight new regional water authorities with another for all of Wales to deliver local priorities, has also been suggested.
The review, the largest into the water industry since privatisation in the 1980s, was undertaken by Sir Jon Cunliffe, a career civil servant who oversaw the biggest clean-up of Britain’s banking system in the wake of the financial crash.
He was coaxed out of retirement by Environment Secretary Steve Reed to lead the Independent Water Commission.
Here are nine key recommendations:
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• Single integrated water regulators – a single water regulator in England and a single water regulator in Wales. In England, this would replace Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and water-environment related functions from the Environment Agency and Natural England
• Eight new regional water system planning authorities in England and one national authority in Wales
• Greater consumer protection – this includes upgrading the consumer body Consumer Council for Water into an Ombudsman for Water to give stronger protection to customers and a clearer route to resolving complaints
• Stronger environmental regulation, including compulsory water meters
• Tighter oversight of water company ownership and governance, including new powers for the regulator to block changes in water company ownership
• Public health reforms – this aims to better manage public health risks in water, recognising the many people who swim, surf and enjoy other water-based activities
• Fundamental reset of economic regulation – including changes to ensure companies are investing in and maintaining assets
• Clear strategic direction – a newlong-term National Water Strategy should be published by both the UK and Welsh governments with a “minimum horizon of 25 years”
• Infrastructure and asset health reforms – including new requirements for companies to map and assess their assets and new resilience standards
In a speech responding to Sir Jon’s report, Mr Reed is set to describe the water industry as “broken” and welcome the commission’s recommendations to ensure “the failures of the past can never happen again”.
Final recommendations of the commission have been published on Monday morning to clean up the sector and improve public confidence.
Major other suggested steps for the government include greater consumer protection by upgrading the Consumer Council for Water into an ombudsman with advocacy duties being transferred to Citizens Advice.
Stronger and updated regulations have been proposed by Sir Jon, including compulsory water metering, changes to wholesale tariffs for industrial users and greater water reuse and rainwater harvesting schemes. A social tariff is also recommended.
Oversight of companies via the ability to block changes in ownership of water businesses and the addition of “public benefit” clauses in water company licences.
To boost company financial resilience, as the UK’s biggest provider Thames Water struggles to remain in private ownership, the commission has recommended minimum financial requirements, like banks are subject to.
It’s hoped this will, in turn, make companies more appealing to potential investors.
The public health element of water has been recognised, and senior public health representation has been recommended for regional water planning authorities, as have new laws to address pollutants like forever chemicals and microplastics.
A “supervisory” approach has been recommended to intervene before things like pollution occur, rather than penalising the businesses after the event.
A long-term, 25-year national water strategy should be published by the UK and Welsh governments, with ministerial priorities given to water firms every five years.
Companies should also be required to map and assess their assets and resilience
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
A new public inquiry will “uncover the truth” behind the so-called “Battle of Orgreave”, a bloody fight between striking miners and police officers in the 1980s.
One hundred and twenty people were injured in the violent confrontation on 18 June 1984, outside a coal processing factory in Orgreave, South Yorkshire.
Five thousand miners clashed with an equal number of armed and mounted police during a day of fighting.
Police used horse charges, riot shields and batons against the picketers, even as some were retreating.
Image: Masses of miners and police clashed during the day of fighting
Image: Police officers on horses charged against protesters
In the aftermath, miners were blamed for the violence in what campaigners believe was an institutional “frame-up”.
“There were so many lies,” says Chris Peace, from campaign group Orgreave Truth and Justice, “and it’s a real historic moment to get to this stage.”
“There’s a lot of information already in the public domain,” she adds, “but there’s still some papers that are embargoed, which will hopefully now be brought to light.”
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Image: Campaigner Chris Peace
Although dozens of miners were arrested, trials against them all collapsed due to allegations of unreliable police evidence.
Campaigners say some involved have been left with “physical and psychological damage”, but until now, previous governments have refused calls for a public inquiry.
Launching the inquiry today, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky Newsi that she wanted to “make sure” campaigners now got “proper answers”.
“We’ve obviously had unanswered questions about what happened at Orgreave for over 40 years,” Ms Cooper says, “and when we were elected to government, we determined to take this forward.”
Image: A police officer tackling a miner
Image: A bleeding protester being led away by police during the ‘Battle of Orgreave’
Image: The Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox, will chair the inquiry
The inquiry will be a statutory one, meaning that witnesses will be compelled to come and give evidence, and chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox.
“I’m really happy,” says Carl Parkinson, a former miner who was at Orgreave on the day of the clash, “but why has it took so long?”
“A lot of those colleagues and close friends have passed away, and they’ll never get to see any outcome.”
Image: Former miner Carl Parkinson
Image: Former miner Chris Skidmore
Mr Parkinson and Chris Skidmore, who was also there that day, were among the group of campaigners informed first-hand by Ms Cooper about the public inquiry at the Orgreave site.
“It wasn’t frightening to start off with,” Mr Skidmore remembers of the day itself, “but then what I noticed was the amount of police officers who had no identification numbers on. It all felt planned.”
“And it wasn’t just one truncheon,” says Mr Parkinson, “there were about 30, or 40. And it was simultaneous, like it was orchestrated – just boom, boom, boom, boom.
“And there’s lads with a split down their heads for no good reason, they’d done nothing wrong. We were just there to peacefully picket.”
Image: Police used riot shields against the picketers, even as some were retreating
Image: In the aftermath of the fighting, miners were blamed for the violence
In the intervening years, South Yorkshire Police have paid more than £400,000 in compensation to affected miners and their families.
But no official inquiry has ever looked at the documents surrounding the day’s events, the lead-up to it and the aftermath.
“We need to have trust and confidence restored in the police,” says South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, “and part of that is about people, like this campaign, getting the justice that they deserve.
“Obviously, we’ve had things like Hillsborough, CSE [Child Sexual Exploitation] in Rotherham, and we want to turn the page.”