Three handguns hidden in a children’s underwear drawer were among 386 illegal firearms seized across London last year.

The Metropolitan Police says its blitz has led to a record drop in gun crime, which is at its lowest level in 15 years.

Firearms offences have been cut from 196 to 145 since March 2023, while shooting murders are down from 12 in 2021/22 to eight in 2023/24.

But despite the highest detection rate for 11 years – some 52% of criminals responsible for shootings were prosecuted last year – the force is still failing to solve almost half.

No arrests have been made after a drive-by shooting in Dalston, east London, last month left four people injured, including a nine-year-old girl, who remains in critical condition in hospital.

Commander Paul Brogden said the majority of shootings in the capital involve gangs but “wholly innocent victims” like her can “be caught in the crossfire”.

Tyrese Miller, 22, was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity on 4 April last year while he was on his way home after a night out with friends in Croydon, south London. Three men were later convicted in connection with the shooting.

“I worry that if this can happen to Tyrese, it can happen to anyone,” his mother, Jackie Taylor, said.

“No mother should have to bury their son like I have. What happened to Tyrese has changed all of us. None of us will ever really come to terms with what has happened.”

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Police say that while “not as easy as ordering a pizza”, those involved in criminal networks are able to readily access firearms to control drugs markets and territory or enforce debts.

Some of the weapons are smuggled into the country by ferry or the mail system, but gang members are increasingly relying on converted blank-firing guns.

They are sold for legitimate pursuits such as drama and farming for as little as £100 but sold on for thousands of pounds once converted to fire real bullets.

A total of 386 illegal firearms were seized by the Met last year, with 46% of the pistols converted from blank-firing guns, while 3D-printed weapons are yet to make a real impact on London’s streets.

Police say the “brazen and fearless” possession of lethal weapons was demonstrated by Danny Butler, the 44-year-old armourer to a south London gang.

He was jailed for 18 years after officers found six guns, as well as a large amount of ammunition and Class A and B drugs, at the home he shared with his wife and three daughters – including an 18-month-old.

Three handguns, one of which was loaded, were among the weapons discovered in his children’s underwear drawer.

Another pistol and a pump action sawn-off shotgun were found in his wardrobe, while a second sawn-off shotgun was discovered in the coat cupboard.

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The Met says victims of gang shootings are often reluctant to engage with police, looking to take their own retribution, and that “today’s victim could be tomorrow’s suspect”.

“Guns destroy lives and communities. The recent shootings in parts of London are a sad reminder that there is still work for us to do when it comes to cracking down on illegal firearms,” said Commander Brogden.

“Our progress should serve as a message to criminals and gang members using firearms – we will come after you, and we will bring you to justice.”

A third company has begun a recall over fears of possible E.coli contamination – with customers being urged to avoid eating a specific product.

Vegan chicken and bacon wraps sold only at WHSmith have been pulled from the shelves, and anyone who purchased them can return to the store for a full refund.

THIS – the food manufacturer that makes it – said the recall applies to all wraps bought up to and including Tuesday 18 June.

While no E.coli has been found in the product, the company explained this is a “precautionary measure” in case ingredients are contaminated.

Health officials have been working to track down the source of the current E.coli outbreak, as this particular strain can make people very ill.

The latest figures show 211 cases have been confirmed as of 11 June – and at least 67 people have required hospital treatment.

Last week, two other manufacturers recalled a variety of sandwiches, wraps and salads sold in major British supermarkets.

You can find a list of products affected by that recall here.

Greencore Group says it “adheres to the highest standards of food safety”, adding: “We are working closely with the Food Standards Agency and our suppliers to better understand the possible source of any potential issue.”

Samworth Brothers Manton Wood explained the supplier of a salad ingredient it uses in a small number of products had been advised to undertake a product withdrawal and recall.

“A small number of sandwich and wrap lines that are made at our Manton Wood site are being recalled as a precautionary measure to ensure a high level of health protection for consumers. No other Manton Wood products are affected,” a spokesperson added.

E.coli bacteria are normally harmless and live in the intestines of humans and animals – but this strain is known as Shiga toxin-producing E.coli, or STEC for short.

Which? head of consumer protection policy Sue Davies told Sky News: “The FSA and UK Health Security Agency must get to the bottom of how this widespread outbreak has happened and take all action necessary to prevent any more people from becoming ill. It shows how we can never afford to be complacent with our food safety and food standards.”

Read more: What are the warning signs of infection?

Trish Mannes from the UK Health Security Agency says symptoms can include “severe and sometimes bloody diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever”.

Some cases cause serious complications that can lead to kidney failure.

People are being advised to follow NHS.uk guidance if they become unwell.

“Washing your hands with soap and warm water and using disinfectants to clean surfaces will help stop any further spread of infection,” Ms Mannes added.

People who might be infected also should not prepare food for others and avoid work or school until 48 hours after symptoms stop.

Sarah’s front room is filled with pictures of her smiling baby. He’s now 18 months old. But for almost a year, she was investigated on suspicion of illegally trying to abort him. 

In January 2023, Sarah (not her real name) had just delivered her baby prematurely. She called 999 but before paramedics turned up, police came knocking at her door.

“The front room was just full of police,” Sarah tells Sky News. “I felt like a criminal.”

Her pregnancy was unplanned and she had considered a termination. She went to an abortion clinic but was told she was three days over the legal limit of 24 weeks.

“I wasn’t expecting to be that far gone,” she says. “I was hardly showing. It was a massive shock.”

When she got home, she panicked and started searching adoption, and adoption to friends and family, online. She even put abortion pills in her online shopping basket – but never bought them.

After a few days, Sarah came to terms with the pregnancy. But on the Monday morning, she wasn’t feeling very well and called in sick to work.

“Throughout the day, I’d had back pain and wasn’t getting any better,” she says. “And then at about seven in the evening, eight maybe, I went upstairs to the toilet… and he was here.

“I rang my husband who was downstairs to say ‘I think I’ve just had a baby’.”

He was born at 25 weeks, almost three months premature. He wasn’t breathing. His parents wrapped him in a towel and took him downstairs.

“He was blue in colour, there was no movement. It was horrible,” Sarah says.

When her husband rang 999, the paramedics gave CPR instructions on the phone. But before they arrived, the police came.

It was the start of an investigation that would last a year.

The police force involved said it “attended to assist medical professionals and ensure necessary statutory processes were followed” – as they would “with any involving the potential for the sudden unexplained death of a baby or a child”.

“It was quickly identified that there was information to suggest a criminal offence may have been committed,” the force added.

Sarah’s case was dropped earlier this year and is no longer active.

Her story comes as the British Society of Abortion Care Providers and the British Pregnancy Advice Service (BPAS) – one of the main licensed abortion clinics – today issue a statement saying women under investigation on suspicion of illegally abortions are “incredibly distressed” that a vote on abortion law won’t take place this parliamentary term.

“As soon as the new parliament returns in July, it must urgently act,” BPAS says.

Before the general election was called, MPs were due to debate abortion law.

Amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill aimed at stopping women facing criminal sanction for ending their pregnancy had been proposed.

‘A national scandal’

“There’s an increasing number of women who are facing investigation and suspicion that they have had an illegal abortion,” says Jonathan Lord, an NHS consultant gynaecologist and co-chair of the British Society of Abortion Care Providers.

Anecdotally, he knows of up to 100 women who have been investigated in the last year, which he says is “unprecedented”.

“What these women are going through and the horrific way they’ve been treated… it’s a national scandal,” he adds.

Dr Lord says he’s seen a rise in police approaching abortion providers for records and information about women who had considered an abortion.

Responding to police inquiries has become a “major” part of his job.

“In no other field of medicine would you expect the police to ask for medical records, they are confidential for a reason,” he tells Sky News.

The official numbers are lower than what Dr Lord reports, but still at record levels.

Between 2022 and 2023, 29 people in England and Wales were recorded as under police investigation on suspicion of procuring an illegal abortion – the highest in two decades.

And Freedom of Information data for Sky News shows there’s been a rise in the number of people taken to court for this offence.

Between 2010 and 2019, 17 cases reached court in England and Wales. Only six of those cases resulted in a conviction. That’s about a third.

But in just a few years, between 2020 and 2023, 11 cases went to court. Almost half of those (five) resulted in a conviction.

An illegal abortion is any attempt to procure a miscarriage where it’s not signed off by two doctors, or the medication hasn’t been prescribed.

Experts can’t fully explain what is fuelling this but suggest a combination of factors might be at play, including increased police awareness of the ease of “at home” abortions.

‘Prosecutions not in public interest’

In England, Wales and Scotland, it is legal to terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks in an NHS clinic or approved abortion provider, with the permission of two doctors. In Northern Ireland, abortion was fully decriminalised in 2020.

Women can have a surgical abortion or they can take two pills – known as a medical termination.

Since COVID, the “pills by post” scheme became a permanent measure. It means both pills can be taken at home in the early stages of pregnancy following an online telephone consultation.

Having a termination outside of these circumstances in England and Wales is illegal under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. The maximum penalty is life in prison.

“I think abortion care should come under the umbrella of healthcare,” says Lucie Baylis, an unplanned pregnancy nurse at Royal Cornwall NHS hospital.

“I don’t think there is any public interest in prosecuting women who seek abortion outside of the legal parameters.”

Earlier this year, new guidance was issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists urging medics not to report patients if they suspect a woman of illegally ending their own pregnancy.

In the first official guidance issued of its kind, it says a healthcare worker must “justify” any disclosure of patient data or face “potential fitness to practise proceedings”.

Ms Baylis said “it seems mad” women should be passed to police or authorities rather than handled as a healthcare patient.

‘Law should follow the science’

But others think moves to change the law are “irresponsible” and “would only have the impact of incentivising women to have late-term abortions by themselves, with no medical oversights,” says Calum Miller, a doctor and medical ethics professor at the University of Oxford.

“The current law acts as a deterrent to stop this,” he says.

“Data from other countries is very clear that when you make a certain kind of abortion legal, it does become more common.

“As an example, in New Zealand, there was a 43% increase in abortions after 20 weeks,” he says.

Dr Miller feels proposed amendments have the aim of “legalising abortion up until birth, which isn’t in step with British public opinion”.

In an October YouGov poll, 25% of people said they thought the current 24-week legal limit was too late and should be reduced, while 49% said it was about right, and 6% believed it should be extended.

“Abortion laws should follow the science. And it should say at the very least that if a baby is potentially viable, abortion should not be an option,” says Dr Miller.

While Sarah accepts why she was investigated – for looking for pills online – she is still struggling with the impact the investigation has had on her life.

“It never leaves your mind,” she says.

“Having to live with it for 50-odd weeks… You think ‘am I going to get a knock on the door? Are we going to get taken away?'”

Read more:
Inside social media’s illicit abortion trade
New law for abortion clinic buffer zones backed by MSPs

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The police force involved with Sarah’s case told us: “Immediate action was taken to secure evidence to ensure that a thorough investigation could take place.

“This was a complex investigation, requiring extensive forensic and medical evidence, and unfortunately these kind of enquiries take time.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Crown Prosecution Service also say these investigations are “rare” and “would only be initiated where there is credible information to suggest criminal activity… often as a result of concerns raised from medical professionals”.

They say they come with “unique” factors and “personal circumstances” that are “carefully” considered.