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A 14-year-old boy has died and four people are in hospital after a stabbing attack in northeast London.

Police were called to reports around 7am that a 36-year-old man was wielding a sword and attacking members of the public.

Officers were also caught up in the rampage in Hainault, northeast London, near the Tube station.

Police also said the man crashed a vehicle into a house in nearby Thurlow Gardens, before reportedly stabbing a number of people and being arrested.

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London Ambulance Service said they treated five people at the scene and took them to hospital – including the 14-year-old boy.

In an update this afternoon, Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, who leads local policing, confirmed the teenage boy had died.

He said: “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.”

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Chief superintendent Stuart Bell giving his update

The scene in Hainault.
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Police responded to reports of a vehicle driven into a house this morning

He also confirmed two other members of the public were in hospital with injuries believed to be not life-threatening.

Along with them, two officers received “significant” but not life-threatening injuries and will undergo surgery, the police chief said.

Officers arrested the man 22 minutes after the first call went into emergency services.

Eyewitnesses described hearing shrieking and seeing someone receive CPR at the scene.

Video showed a man wielding a large sword outside a number of residential properties.

Police added they did not think it was a targeted attack, or terror-related, and they were working to establish the circumstances of what took place.

As the press conference ended this afternoon Ch Supt Stuart Bell refused to respond to questions over whether the suspect had been previously arrested.

Eyewitnesses heard ‘screams and shrieking’ after Hainault sword attack

Chris Bates told Sky News he saw police apprehend a suspect wielding a “big samurai sword”.

He said that, after confronting the suspect, police screamed at them to drop the sword, before they Tasered him, and “piled on top of him”, arresting him.

Another local resident said she saw a body on the ground as she hid by her window, while a sword-wielding man shouted “do you believe in God?” outside her home.

Pic: Jordan Pettitt/PA
Police at the scene in Hainault, north east London, after reports of several people being stabbed at a Tube station. A 36-year-old man wielding a sword was arrested following the attack on members of the public and two police officers. Picture date: Tuesday April 30, 2024.
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Pic: PA

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Pic:@ell_pht

The witness, who didn’t want to be named, said: “He was wielding his sword trying to attack the police but then they sprayed him and he ran away.

“He was shouting at the police ‘do you believe in God?’, also at the ambulance.

“We were very scared and trying to hide and not show ourselves through the window, because he was standing right next to our house and he could have seen us if he looked up.

“We were trying to hide but also at the same time taking video of him attacking the police, and of the body on the floor, so, yeah, we were very scared and we didn’t know what to do.”

Pic: Shutterstock
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Emergency services on the scene of the incident in Hainault. Pic: Shutterstock

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The King has asked to be kept informed of the incident and has sent his thoughts to those affected.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “Following the horrific scenes in Hainault this morning, the King has asked to be kept fully informed as details of the incident become clearer.

“His thoughts and prayers are with all those affected – in particular, the family of the young victim who has lost his life – and he salutes the courage of the emergency services who helped contain the situation.”

Politicians were quick to offer their condolences after news emerged of the attack.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with those affected and their families.

“I’d like to thank the emergency services for their ongoing response, and pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery shown by police on the scene. Such violence has no place on our streets.”

Local MP, and Labour shadow minister, Wes Streeting said the whole community was “devastated” by news of the attack but “deserved answers”.

Forensic investigators in Laing Close in Hainault/ Pic: PA
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Forensic investigators in Laing Close in Hainault, following the attack. Pic: PA

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan praised the “everyday bravery” of the police officers who ran towards the sword-wielding man.

He added: “This attack is devastating and appalling. I’m sure I speak on behalf of the entire city when I say my thoughts and prayers are with this young child and his family.”

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League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

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League table of foreign criminals awaiting deportation and their offences set to be published

A league table of foreign criminals and their offences is set to be published for the first time.

The plans, due to be announced on Tuesday, will reportedly focus on those offenders awaiting deportation from the UK.

The latest data shows there were 19,244 foreign offenders awaiting deportation at the end of 2024, a rise from 17,907 when the Conservatives left office in July and 14,640 at the end of 2022.

Despite more offenders being deported since Labour came to power, the number waiting to be removed from the UK has been growing.

Factors are understood to include the early release of inmates due to prison overcrowding, instability and diplomatic problems in some countries and a backlog of legal cases appealing deportation.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the decision to publish the nationalities of foreign criminals showed Labour had “buckled” under pressure from the Conservatives to disclose the data.

The latest government statistics show there were 10,355 foreign nationals held in custody in England and Wales at the end of 2024, representing 12% of the prison population.

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The most common nationalities after British nationals were Albanian (11%), Polish (8%), Romanian (7%), which also represented the top three nationalities who were deported from the UK in 2024, according to Home Office figures.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to have ordered officials to release the details by the end of the year, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper reported Ms Cooper overruled Home Office officials, who previously claimed it was too difficult to provide quality data on foreign criminals.

A Home Office source said: “Not only are we deporting foreign criminals at a rate never seen when Chris Philp and Robert Jenrick were in charge at the Home Office, but we will also be publishing far more information about that cohort of offenders than the Tories ever did.”

The source added that ministers wanted “to ensure the public is kept better informed about the number of foreign criminals awaiting deportation, where they are from and the crimes they have committed”.

In March, the government announced £5m in funding to deploy staff to 80 jails in England and Wales to speed up the deportation of foreign offenders.

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Foreign nationals sentenced to 12 months or more in prison are subject to automatic deportation, but the home secretary can also remove criminals if their presence in the UK is not considered desirable.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick welcomed the news, saying: “We will finally see the hard reality that mass migration is fuelling crime across our country… Frankly, the public deserved to know this [detail on foreign criminals] long ago.”

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Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

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Rachel Reeves to head to Washington amid hopes of US trade deal

Rachel Reeves will pledge to “stand up for Britain’s national interest” as she heads to Washington DC amid hopes of a UK/US trade deal.

The chancellor will fly to the US capital for her spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first of which began on Sunday.

During her three-day visit, Ms Reeves is set to hold meetings with G7, G20 and IMF counterparts about the changing global economy and is expected to make the case for open trade.

Politics latest: Tributes paid to Pope Francis

Her visit comes after Donald Trump imposed blanket 10% tariffs on all imports into the US, including from the UK, and as talks about reaching a trade deal intensified.

The chancellor will also hold her first in-person meeting with her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, about striking a new trade agreement, which the UK hopes will take the sting out of Mr Trump’s tariffs.

In addition to the 10% levy on all goods imported to America from the UK, Mr Trump enacted a 25% levy on car imports.

Ms Reeves will also be hoping to encourage fellow European finance ministers to increase their defence spending and discuss the best ways to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Read more:
Mission: Impossible? Chancellor heads to the IMF

Starmer and the King pay tribute to Pope Francis

Speaking ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “The world has changed, and we are in a new era of global trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.

“This changing world is unsettling for families who are worried about the cost of living and businesses concerned about what tariffs will mean for them. But our task as a government is not to be knocked off course or to take rash action which risks undermining people’s security.

“Instead, we must rise to meet the moment and I will always act to defend British interests as part of our plan for change.

“We need a world economy that provides stability and fairness for businesses wanting to invest and trade, more trade and global partnerships between nations with shared interests, and security for working people who want to get on with their lives.”

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Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield – as victim named

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Murder arrest after woman stabbed to death in Enfield - as victim named

A woman who was stabbed to death in north London has been named by police – as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Pamela Munro, 45, was found with a stab wound and died at the scene in Ayley Croft, Enfield, on Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and is in custody, the force added.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “Investigating officers have worked relentlessly across the weekend to investigate the circumstances around Pamela’s death.

“We continue to support her family who are understandably devastated.”

GVs from SN footage on 20/04/2025 at scene of murder on 19/04/2025 of woman at Gainsborough House, Ayley Croft, Enfield in north London.
Ingest 25 NM25 SKY SAF ENFIELD MURDER GVS ENFIELD 2045
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Police at the scene at Ayley Croft in Enfield

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The Met Police has asked anyone with information or who was driving through Ayley Court between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage to contact the force.

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