Category: England

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

A Met Police operation in London’s West End targeting anti-social driving has resulted in super cars worth more than £6million being removed from the capital’s streets.

Officers seized a total of 72 luxury vehicles, including Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s and Bentley’s that were either unroadworthy or being driven illegally.

The operation was organised in response to concerns raised by residents, businesses and visitors about a rise in super cars causing a nuisance in and around the Hyde Park, Kensington and Chelsea areas.

Working alongside the Motor Insurers’ Bureau between Friday, 8 and Sunday, 10 August, the cars were seized and drivers issued with tickets for a variety of motoring offences, including driving with no insurance, no driving licence, disqualification, false documentation and the use of fraudulent number plates.

Officers also recovered several stolen vehicles, with another ten identified as having no valid MOT documentation and a further eleven without road tax.

Met officers uncovered a range of other criminal activity as part of their investigation, making eight arrests. These included individuals wanted for actual bodily harm and criminal damage, drug offences, theft and immigration offences.

London’s town centres, high streets and communities are seeing an enhanced police and local authority presence this summer as part of partnership work to build on reductions in theft, burglary, robbery, anti-social behaviour and retail crime achieved in the capital so far this year, with this proactive operation another example of how the Met is keeping people and motorists safe.

The operation was supported by volunteer officers from the Met’s Special Constabulary.

Special Chief Officer James Deller, from the Met’s Special Constabulary, said:

“The Met is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour and this operation was set-up to respond to concerns from resident, businesses and visitors about high-value vehicles causing a nuisance in known hotspot areas in central and west London.

“The Met has already reduced neighbourhood crime by 19 per cent over recent months and we’re addressing anti-social behaviour caused by uninsured drivers.

“This has been a great opportunity to work with the Motor Insurance Bureau and for officers to speak with members of the public about the work we do, educate drivers and enforce the law.”

Details of those arrested:

• A 22-year-old man from Hammersmith was arrested for ABH and criminal damage and has been remanded.

• A 25-year-old man from London was arrested and later charged for possession of a Class B drug.

• A 27-year-old man from Watford was arrested for theft of a motor vehicle and released under investigation.

• A 23-year-old man from Twickenham was arrested for theft of motor vehicle, dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, no insurance, no driving licence and drug driving and remanded.

• Three men, aged 26, 35 and 39, and a 23-year-old woman, all from London, were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences.

Get the latest updates from Met neighbourhood officers straight to your inbox.

Met Engage is a free messaging service that keeps you connected to what’s happening in your area. Whether it’s crime updates, safety advice, or news from your local policing team, you’ll get the information that matters to you — when it matters most.

By signing up here, you’ll join thousands of others who are already receiving trusted updates from their local police.

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

A serving Met officer has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman while on holiday in Romania.

PC Hubert Kokoszko, attached to the North Area Basic Command Unit, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 13 August charged with sexual assault.

He was charged on Wednesday, 16 July with sexual assault on a female and was immediately suspended from duty.

This relates to a report made to the Met in June 2024 about a sexual assault that took place in Romania against a woman known to him while he was off duty.

PC Kokoszko was interviewed under caution at a police station on Monday, 28 October 2024 and was charged as above.

The victim continues to be supported by specialist officers.

The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards is aware.

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

A man has been charged with the murders of father and son, Terry and Brendan McMillan, and grievous bodily harm in relation to a third man, aged 47.

Hassan Cevik, 31, of Mount Pleasant Lane, Hackney, who was arrested on Monday, 28 July and taken to hospital, will appear before Croydon Magistrates Court on Monday, 11 August.

Officers were called at 13:00hrs on Monday, 28 July to reports that multiple people had been assaulted at a business unit in Long Lane, Bermondsey SE1.

Police and the London Ambulance Service attended the scene and treated four people for stab wounds.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics and police, 27-year-old Brendan died at the scene. His 58-year-old father Terry from Chislehurst, Bromley, sadly died shortly afterwards in hospital.

Cevik was discharged from hospital on Saturday, 9 August and charged on Sunday, 10 August with two counts of murder, Section 18 grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Detectives are urging members of the public to come forward with any information they may have following the death of a 39-year-old man in Noak Hill Road, Romford.

On Saturday, 9 August at 14:35hrs police were called to Noak Hill Road, Havering following reports of a road traffic collision between a motorbike and car.

Met officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service (LAS) who treated a 49-year-old man on scene before taking him to hospital.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of the emergency services, the man was pronounced dead in hospital.

His next of kin has been made aware, they are currently receiving support from specialist officers.

Detective Sergeant James Moody, from the Met’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “We urge anyone with any information to please get in touch, even the smallest bit of detail could be helpful to our investigation. We are keen to obtain any dash cam or CCTV in order to piece together what happened. Please come forward, your assistance is greatly appreciated.”

The driver of the car stopped at the scene, and they are assisting police with their enquiries.

At this stage in the investigation, there have been no arrests.

Enquiries into the circumstances are currently on-going.

If you saw what happened, or have any dash cam footage, then please call police on 101 stating CAD3924/09August. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to remain anonymous.

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

The total number of people arrested during the policing operation in central London on Saturday has been confirmed as 532.

The overwhelming majority of arrests – 522 – were for displaying an item (in this case a placard) in support of a proscribed organisation (in this case Palestine Action) contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

One of those arrests took place at the form up of the Palestine Coalition march in Russell Square, but the remaining 521 arrests took place at the protest in Parliament Square.

There were a further ten arrests, broken down as follows:

• Six arrests for assaults on officers. Fortunately none were seriously injured.
• One arrest for obstructing a constable in the execution of his/her duty.
• Two for breaching Section 14 Public Order Act conditions.
• One for a racially aggravated public order offence (Section 5 Public Order Act)

The average age of those arrested was 54. A further breakdown of age ranges can be found at the bottom of the page.

263 of those arrested were male, 261 were female and eight either defined themselves as non-binary or did not disclose their gender.

We believe that 30 people arrested at the protest on Saturday had been arrested at previous recent protests in support of Palestine Action in London. We’re not in a position to confirm if any of those arrested had been arrested recently at protests outside London.

Anyone who was arrested as part of the operation was taken to one of two prisoner processing points in the Westminster area.

Those whose details could be confirmed were released on bail to appear at a police station at a future date. They were given conditions not to attend future demonstrations related to Palestine Action.

Those who refused to provide their details at the prisoner processing points and those who were found to have been arrested while already on bail, were transported to one of a number of Met Police custody suites to be dealt with. We did not need to use any custody suites outside London.

• The number of people dealt with at a prisoner processing point was 320.
• The number of people transported to custody was 212.
• As of 13:00hrs on Sunday, 18 people remained in custody but we expect them to be released on bail in the coming hours.

We are aware of photos and footage online suggesting some of those who were released on bail then returned to Parliament Square.

Given the numbers of people arrested yesterday it would have been entirely unrealistic for officers to recognise individuals who returned to the area. Their focus was rightly on those continuing to commit offences who were still to be arrested. We are as confident as we can be that none of those who returned to Parliament Square re-joined the protesters who were holding placards.

Next steps:

Over the coming days and weeks, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command will work to put together the case files required to secure charges against those arrested as part of this operation.

Securing a charge for an offence under the Terrorism Act is a distinct process, which in some instances not only involves the approval of the Crown Prosecution Service, but also the Attorney General.

Last week we confirmed the first three charges in England and Wales for offences against Section 13 of the Terrorism Act relating to Palestine Action. The three charged were arrested at a protest in Parliament Square on Saturday, 5 July.

A further 26 case files relating to arrests on the same day are due to be submitted to the CPS imminently, with more to follow in relation to later protests.

Further breakdown of ages:

Age ranges – the dates of birth of 13 people await clarification and are not included in these totals
17-19	6
20-29	65
30-39	55
40-49	45
50-59	89
60-69	147
70-79	97
80-89	15

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

The Met is preparing for a busy three days of protests and events, with additional officers being brought in from elsewhere in the country to bolster resources in London.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, who will lead the policing operation, said: “This is going to be a particularly busy few days in London with many simultaneous protests and events that will require a significant policing presence. I’m grateful not just to the Met officers who will be working incredibly hard over the coming days but to those colleagues from other forces who have been deployed to London to support us.

“Our role in the context of protest remains as it always has been – to police without fear or favour, to enforce the law, to keep the peace by ensuring groups with opposing views do not come together and to prevent serious disorder and serious disruption to ordinary people going about their lives.

“There is no doubt that the scale of the public order policing operation will put pressure on our resources, but Londoners can be assured that we have plans in place that will allow us continue to police in communities across all 32 boroughs, responding to emergencies and keeping the public safe.”

Friday 8 August

On Friday afternoon, officers will be deployed in the vicinity of hotels being used to accommodate asylum seekers in Islington and in Canary Wharf in anticipation of possible protest and counter protest.

Officers will also be policing a number of local protests in opposition to continued Israeli military action in Gaza. These are due to take place in Tower Hamlets, in Putney and in Westminster where, last week, a protest organised by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) saw 36 arrests after a breakaway group attempted to block the road at Oxford Circus.

Saturday 9 August

On Saturday the latest national demonstration by the Palestine Coalition, made up of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War and other groups, will take place with a march from Russell Square to Whitehall followed by an assembly with speeches. We are not aware of an organised counter protest at this event.

Also on Saturday we are anticipating another protest in Parliament Square organised by Defend Our Juries where participants are expected to intentionally break the law by holding up placards expressing support for the proscribed group Palestine Action. Previous such protests have seen more than 100 arrests made in total.

DAC Adelekan said: “What sets this protest apart from others is participants are coming out not just to express a view, but with the aim of being arrested in very large numbers to place a strain on the police and the wider criminal justice system.

“The Met is very experienced at dealing with large scale protests, including where the protest activity crosses into criminality requiring arrests. While we will not go into the specific details of our plan, the public can be assured that we will have the resources and processes in place to respond to any eventuality.

“Anyone showing support for Palestine Action can expect to be arrested. I would once again urge people to consider the seriousness of that outcome. An arrest under the Terrorism Act can have very real long-term implications – from travel, to employment, to finances. Also, as we have seen this week, it is very likely an arrest in these circumstances will lead to a charge.”

Sunday 10 August

On Sunday, the FA Community Shield match between Liverpool and Crystal Palace will take place at Wembley. We anticipate that a number of Crystal Palace fans will gather in central London ahead of the match and we will have officers deployed in the area to deal with any incidents.

On Sunday afternoon, from 3pm, there will be a ‘National March for the Hostages’ in central London organised by Stop the Hate and a number of Jewish organisations. There will be a policing and security operation in place to ensure the safety of participants.

Officers will again be deployed in Canary Wharf in anticipation of a planned protest and possible counter protest relating to the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers.

Public Order Act conditions

The police have a duty to prevent serious disruption and serious disorder and can impose conditions under the Public Order Act to do so. These conditions can include measures like fixed start and finish times, required routes for marches and areas for static assemblies etc.

Conditions can be authorised by the Gold Commander ahead of a protest, or by the senior officer present on the ground during a protest.

At this stage, Public Order Act conditions have only been imposed in relation to the Palestine Coalition protest on Saturday. It is likely that conditions will be imposed on other protests in the coming days. These will be communicated proactively on the Met’s X account.

Section 14(3) Public Order Act 1986

Anyone participating in the Palestine Coalition protest on Saturday, 9 August (also referred to as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign protest or National March for Palestine) must remain in the shaded area on the map below when forming up.

The form up must not begin before 12 noon and anyone taking part must not arrive before then.

Participants in the procession must not deviate from the route shown on the map below. They must not stop and form static assemblies anywhere along the route.

Participants in the assembly that follows the procession must remain in the area shown on the map below. The stage for the assembly must be placed at the point identified on the map. The assembly must conclude by 17:30hrs.