All articles tagged with #metropolitan police
A journalist’s camera and gear were stolen at a Shoreditch pub in broad daylight, with security footage showing two suspects. A CAD-location error led the Metropolitan Police to redirect the report to the City of London Police, delaying potential leads and the investigation. The Met apologized, saying steps have been taken to prevent a repeat, and the case remains under inquiry.
Actor Noel Clarke has been charged by the Metropolitan Police with two counts of sexual assault, three counts of voyeurism and one count of exposure, relating to five women and alleged to have occurred between 2007 and 2016; the CPS authorised the charges after a year-long investigation.
Convicted UK serial rapist Zhenhao Zou could face additional charges after fresh allegations from seven more women were forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service; the Metropolitan Police say the file includes alleged rape and administering a substance to commit a sexual offence, with inquiries also ongoing into alleged assaults in China.
A London abuse survivor, Tina Duggan, says the Metropolitan Police failed to protect her from a serial abuser from age 15, allowing Frederick Allchorne to evade justice for decades. Despite reports, hospital records, and evidence, a 1991 case was closed and her later attempts to reopen it were ignored, culminating in Allchorne’s 2023 conviction for rape and related offences. The Met later settled a civil negligence claim without admitting liability, acknowledging more should have been done, after a review found no misconduct by officers involved. Duggan hopes her public disclosure will encourage others to come forward and push for accountability, while the Met maintains it has since changed how it investigates rape and sexual offences.
A man in his 20s died after police attempted to stop him near Harrow Road, before he fled and entered a canal near Meanwhile Gardens, Kensal Road. Bystanders and officers pulled him from the water, CPR was started, and he was pronounced dead at a central London hospital after treatment.
The Metropolitan Police have sent a full evidential file to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision in an investigation linked to Mohamed Al Fayed, focusing on a suspect in his 80s accused of two indecent assaults in London. Seven suspects have been questioned to date, and hundreds of allegations have emerged since a BBC report, as prosecutors decide whether charges will be brought while investigators continue working with CPS.
Former Cambridge sociology professor Jason Arday, embroiled in plagiarism allegations and who resigned last week, was found unresponsive in Battersea, London. Police say the death is unexpected but not suspicious; Arday had denied plagiarism but acknowledged errors amid intense scrutiny and debate around racism in academia.
Over a weekend in central London, the Metropolitan Police seized 90 vehicles worth more than £8m for antisocial or dangerous driving, including a £3.7m Ferrari Monza SP2. The driver had a provisional licence and no insurance. Fifteen cars were seized on the spot; arrests included handling stolen goods, money laundering, driving without insurance, drug possession with intent to supply, harassment offences and immigration offences—the operation’s largest seizure in five years.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley admitted the force “dropped the ball” by pursuing a four‑month probe into a harassment complaint against journalist Jack Grove tied to coverage of Cambridge professor Jason Arday’s plagiarism row and said Grove should not have been contacted; Arday has resigned from Cambridge amid plagiarism allegations (LJMU did not uphold charges) as Cambridge investigates, prompting broader scrutiny of how plagiarism claims are handled in academia and media and the treatment of Black academics.
The Home Office has confirmed that at least five survivors of abuse by Mohamed Al Fayed are victims of human trafficking, with cases dating from the 1990s to after 2010 linked to Harrods and other Fayed-owned enterprises. The investigation, Operation Cornpoppy, has queried four people as authorities probe possible facilitators. Survivors describe recruitment to false Harrods roles and coercion, amid more than 400 allegations of misconduct; Al Fayed died in 2023 without charges, and oversight bodies are scrutinizing the Met Police's handling of the case.
Londoners share personal encounters with racist abuse—from a Walthamstow restaurant to a Wembley FA Cup incident—as Met Police data show racist hate crimes in London rose about 9% to nearly 18,000 in the last year; victims describe lasting impacts, including identity crises and fear, with communities offering support; police say they’re forming a detective-led hate crime team to improve investigations, though many incidents go unreported.
Former pop star Gary Glitter (Paul Gadd) has been charged with four historical sexual offences dating from 1978–1981: one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14, alleged to have taken place at a Kensington address with one identified victim. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 5 August. The charges follow a January 2025 Met report; Glitter was interviewed in July 2025 and remains in custody at HMP Channings Wood. CPS London says there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to proceed.
An investigation shows exhibitors at London's Great Israeli Real Estate Event marketing properties in occupied territories, including settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank (e.g., Ma'ale Adunim, Kfar Eldad, Teneh Omarim). The revelations prompted calls from Mayor Sadiq Khan and MPs for scrutiny, protests outside the venue, and organizers denying wrongdoing, while UK guidance cautions against settlement-related activity.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan opposes the upcoming Great Israeli Real Estate Event in London that promotes companies tied to illegal Israeli settlements and says he has discussed it with the Metropolitan Police, Foreign Office and Home Office. Legal groups have asked the Met to consider possible offences and whether a Serious Crime Prevention Order should be used to block the event, while organisers deny wrongdoing and the government has warned businesses against activity in settlements.
US Department of Justice emails show Metropolitan Police protection officers were told to guard Jeffrey Epstein’s New York home during a December 2010 stay for Prince Andrew, including arrangements for two officers and a temporary access code; the Met says it has not identified any wrongdoing and is contacting officers who may have information, as the case intersects with ongoing scrutiny of Andrew’s travel and his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.