Families of two people killed during a gig at a south London music venue have renewed pleas for information, a year on from the incident.
Gaby Hutchinson, 23, and Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, were both killed at the O2 Brixton Academy on 19 December when people without tickets attempted to force their way into a show featuring Asake.
The venue was saved from permanent closure after the Metropolitan Police asked the local council to remove its licence – but Lambeth Council allowed it to continue operating on the basis it meets “77 extensive and robust new conditions”.
On Friday, the force released images of people they are trying to speak to in connection to the crush, adding one arrest has already been made.
Ms Hutchinson’s sisters Kelsey and Nina, and Ms Ikumelo’s parents Yetunde Olodo and Anthony Ikumelo, relaunched an appeal for information.
Image: Rebecca Ikumel. Pic: Met Police
Mr Ikumelo called his daughter an “angel”, adding there “are still lots of questions to be answered”.
“We don’t know what happened to her, we don’t know how she died and we’re still waiting for information as to how this happened.
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“The most important thing is we don’t want this to happen to another family, so the earlier we have this information the better so that other people could be prevented from suffering the same loss in future.”
Ms Olodo, 60, of Stratford in east London, added: “We just want justice. She has two young children, they are asking questions now ‘Where is mummy? When is mummy coming back?’
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“What can we tell them? They are only five and seven, they don’t seem to understand what is happening.
“All we want is justice for Rebecca, for people to come forward and say what they know about the incident.”
Image: Gaby Hutchinson. Pic: Met Police
Nina Hutchinson, 32, of Gravesend in Kent, added: “A time machine would be great. If we could go back to before then and tell her not to go to work, but that’s not going to happen so it is just doing what we need to do as a family.”
Kelsey Hutchinson said she feels “heartbroken” one year on, adding: “It’s like having an emptiness in your chest, like the world is now upside down and wrong. Just living is hard, really hard.”
She added she would like to see Asake issue his own appeal for fans with information to come forward.
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From December 2022: Chaos outside Asake gig after crush
The Met’s senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Penney, said: “We’re keen to address the tragic incident that happened 12 months ago with our investigation, and we want to let people know that we are still tirelessly working extremely hard, trying to ascertain the actual detail of how this tragic event happened.
“We are continuing our plea to those that did attend that night to come forward and tell us exactly what they saw.”
He added: “We have made one arrest and we’ve conducted four interviews. The arrest was made in October.”
Image: ‘Male A’, one of 13 people police are trying to identify in the investigation into the crushing incident
Image: ‘Male C’
Image: ‘Male G’
According to Gerald Gouriet KC, who represented the police force at a licencing meeting, about 1,000 people were outside the venue, with officers finding “large-scale disorder” with the crowds.
Representatives of Asake have been approached for comment.
All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.
Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.
“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”
But passengers continue to feel the effects.
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.
And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.
Image: Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.
Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.
“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”
Image: Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
One passenger was on a plane when they found out.
They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.
“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”
Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.
“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”
It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.
“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.
“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”
There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.
It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.
Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”
The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.
An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.
The police watchdog says it is investigating after a teenager who was tasered by an officer on a motorway was fatally hit by a car.
Logan Smith, 18, was being taken to hospital in an ambulance at about 11pm on Sunday when the vehicle stopped on the hard shoulder of the M5 in Somerset.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the vehicle stopped on the northbound carriageway “due to the concerns of ambulance staff”.
Mr Smith got out of the ambulance near the junction for Weston-super-Mare and “entered the live lanes of the motorway”, the watchdog added.
Police were called and an officer arrived at the scene, with bodycam footage showing the officer discharging their Taser, causing the teenager to fall to the ground.
“Soon afterwards” Mr Smith was struck by a car travelling on the southbound carriageway, the IOPC said.
The watchdog said it was investigating the “actions and decisions taken by Avon and Somerset Police prior to the death of a teenager”.
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “My thoughts and sympathies are with Logan’s family and friends and everyone affected by this shocking and tragic incident.
“We want to reassure everyone that we will independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident, including the use of a Taser.
“After being notified by the force, we sent our investigators to the police post incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.
“We have taken initial accounts from the officer and ambulance staff involved.
“We met with Logan’s family on Tuesday, to give our condolences, explain our role and to provide some further detail about our investigation, including a Taser being discharged during the incident.
“We will continue to keep them updated and they request that their privacy be respected at such a difficult time.”
The coroner has been informed and formal identification and a post-mortem have taken place.
A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.
Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.
It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.
Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.
Image: North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.
“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.
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