Detectives in Tower Hamlets are appealing for witnesses as they investigate the circumstances around the death of a man in Tower Hamlets.
Police were called at 07:11hrs on Wednesday, 11 October to reports of a body in the water in the Regent’s Canal, near Rhodeswell Road in Limehouse E14.
The body of a man was recovered. The man is Ali Liaquat, 55, who lived in the E14 area.
His next of kin have been informed. A post-mortem has taken place which showed no signs of injuries that may have resulted in his death.
While the death is not being treated as suspicious at this time, officers are working to establish how Ali came to be in the water and are pursuing a number of enquiries.
Officers from the Central East Command Unit are asking anyone who may have seen Ali in the time before his death – especially in the vicinity of Turners Road and Rhodeswell Road – to make contact.
Please call 101 or post @MetCC ref CAD 1199/11 Oct, or to remain 100% anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Officers have been overseeing the demonstration organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain throughout the day (Saturday 21 October) alongside the much larger protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
In addition to officers deployed with the protest, we have counter terrorism officers with specialist language skills and subject expertise working alongside public order officers in our main operations room, assessing any video and photos that emerge.
They have reviewed a video from the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in which a man can be seen to chant ‘jihad, jihad’.
The word has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism.
Specialist officers have assessed the video and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip. We have also sought advice from specialist Crown Prosecution Service lawyers who have reached the same conclusion.
However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.
We are also aware of photos from the same protest showing signs and banners referring to ‘Muslim armies’.
While there are varying interpretations of what the language on the placards should be interpreted to mean, officers must take decisions based on the wording actually used.
Again, this was subject to a careful assessment and no signs or banners were identified that were unlawful.
Detectives have named a man who died in a stabbing in west London as they continue to appeal for witnesses to come forward.
At 18:42hrs on Thursday, 19 October, a police car was flagged down by a member of the public who found a man with stab injuries on Kensal Road, W10.
Officers carried out first aid and called for support from paramedics from the London Ambulance Service.
Despite their efforts, the 36-year-old man died at the scene.
Whilst formal identification awaits, he has been named as Tyrone Pinnock. His family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.
Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation and would like anyone with information about what happened to come forward.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Rawlinson, who is leading the investigation, said: “This happened in the early evening on a busy footbridge that crosses Harrow Road. Several people have spoken to us already and I want to hear from anyone who saw the incident or has any information that could help our investigation.
“Were you travelling on Harrow Road between Bravington Road and Third Avenue between 5pm and 7pm? If so we would like to hear from you and view any dash cam footage you may have.”
There have been no arrests at this time.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 6212/19Oct. To remain anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Three men have been convicted of the murder of Taylor Cox in Islington after an investigation by the Met.
[A] Jaden McGibbon, 22 (19.06.01), of Warltersville Road, N19, [B] Robel Michael, 22 (07.06.01), of no fixed address, and [C] Sichem Mangituka-Mpelo, 22 (09.07.01), of Holloway, were found guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday, 20 October.
They were remanded in custody and will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 15 December.
A fourth person, Dunia Oukili, 22 (28.05.02), of Harrington Square, Camden, was convicted of perverting the course of justice.
Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “This was a targeted attack on a young man who should have had the rest of his life ahead of him.
“It saddens me to see so many young lives cut short by violence on the streets of our capital and I hope these convictions, and the loss of freedom the defendants are about to face, serve as a warning to any others who think that conflict of any kind can be resolved with weapons and violence.
“My thoughts are with Taylor’s family. While nothing can bring him back, I hope that today’s guilty verdicts bring them a degree of satisfaction.”
Police were called at 16:24hrs on 8 June 2021 to reports of a shooting in Hornsey Rise Gardens, N19. Officers attended along with London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.
They found 19-year-old Taylor, who was from Barnet, suffering gunshot injuries. He was taken to hospital where we later died.
A post-mortem examination 11 June 2021 found he died as a result of gunshot wound to the head.
After shooting Taylor, the suspects fled the scene. McGibbon’s girlfriend, Oukili, booked a hotel room and bought a mobile phone in an attempt to help him evade arrest.
Officers would later find spent ammunition cartridge cases in Oukili’s handbag that was of the same calibre to those used in the shooting.
During the investigation detectives trawled through hours of CCTV footage and found images of McGibbon riding a bicycle shortly before the report of shots fired was made to police, just before the murder he covered his face with a balaclava.
Despite his efforts to avoid capture, McGibbon was arrested on 12 June 2021 and was charged with murder the following day.
Michael was arrested on 4 August 2021 and was subsequently charged with murder.
Mangituka-Mpelo was arrested on 23 August 2021 and was subsequently charged with murder.
Taylor’s father, David Campbell, said: “The whole family are grateful that we come to this conclusion and are thankful for the efforts of the police in all the work they did to convict the defendants. Despite the guilty verdict, it still doesn’t help the pain that knowing we won’t see Taylor again causes us”.
Do you know about someone who is involved in violent crime? If you have information that could help keep your community safe, but don’t want to speak to police, please contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. They do not ask your name and cannot trace your call or I.P address.
Any young people who have information about violence or knife crime, can visit www.fearless.org where they can pass on information anonymously – your I.P address will not be traced. Fearless is part of the Crimestoppers charity, and is also independent of the police.
Detectives investigating a fatal collision in Pinner are appealing for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.
The collision took place shortly before 11:00hrs on Friday, 14 April at George V Avenue and involved a black coloured Smart car and a pedestrian on the northbound carriageway.
Officers and London Ambulance Service attended. The pedestrian, a 66-year-old man was taken to a north London hospital where he remained in a critical condition until he sadly died on Thursday, 1 June.
The man’s family is aware and they continue to be supported by specialist officers.
Detective Sergeant Rebecca Collens of the Met’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “I know that some time has passed since this collision, but it is my feeling that if you witnessed it, you would certainly remember it.
“I am very keen to hear from anyone who has information that could assist my investigation – no matter how insignificant it may seem. If you saw this collision or have footage please don’t hesitate to reach out.”
A 48-year-old man, the driver of the Smart car, was interviewed under caution. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
Anyone who witnessed this incident or has footage should call police on the witness appeal line 020 8246 9820. You can also call 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC quoting 2425/14APR.
A man has been bailed after being arrested on suspicion of supporting Hamas at a demonstration in central London earlier this week.
A 31-year-old man was arrested by officers on suspicion of displaying an banner supportive of a proscribed organisation (under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000).
The arrest was made in the Whitehall area on Tuesday, 17 October, during a pro-Palestine demonstration.
He was later further arrested on suspicion of inviting support for a proscribed organisation (under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000).
The man was taken into custody at a London police station, and later bailed to a date in November.
As part of the investigation, being led by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, officers conducted searches at addresses in east London and in County Durham.
The Met’s operation to provide reassurance and security to communities across London in response to the terror attacks in Israel and subsequent military action in Gaza is continuing.
The impact of terrorism and armed conflict is rarely limited to where incidents take place. London is a global city and we know that tragically Londoners have loved ones who have been killed, injured or who are missing. Our thoughts are with them at what is clearly a very difficult time.
We know, too, that there is a much wider community impact being felt and that is shaping the policing response we are providing.
Community
The Met has been working closely with representatives from London’s Jewish and Muslim communities since the attacks in Israel.
Officers have been deployed to provide reassurance and to investigate offences in the vicinity of faith schools, places of worship and in those communities where we know the levels of concern are highest.
So far officers have visited 445 schools and 1,930 places of worship. Those visits will continue.
Regrettably, despite the increased presence of officers we have seen a significant increase in hate crime across London.
This includes abuse directed at individuals or groups in person or online, racially or religiously motivated criminal damage and other offences.
Between 1 October and 18 October, we saw 218 antisemitic offences compared to 15 in the same period last year. Similarly we saw an increase in Islamophobic offences from 42, to 101.
These represent percentage rises of 1,353 per cent and 140 per cent respectively.
We continue to encourage anyone who experiences hate crime to report it to the police. It is not acceptable and we will investigate.
So far, we have made 21 arrests for hate crime offences in the community.
For example, this week we have arrested a man on suspicion of defacing posters of missing Israelis in Camden and another man in relation to 10 incidents of Islamophobic graffiti on bus stops in the New Malden and Raynes Park.
Investigations into many more of the reported offences are ongoing.
Protest
We have seen a number of vigils, demonstrations and other public gatherings since the attacks in Israel took place.
On each occasion we have sought to work with the organisers to understand the nature and scale of the planned event and to deploy officers to ensure it can take place safely, with minimal disruption and that any offences can be dealt with.
We are grateful for the collaborative approach of the key protest organisers which we hope will continue. We encourage anyone planning an event to get in touch.
While there have been pockets of disorder and some instances of hate speech, the majority of the protest activity has been lawful and has taken place without incident.
The largest demonstration seen so far took place last Saturday. Officers made 15 arrests for a variety of offences.
In the days after the demonstration we published the images of people we need to identify as part of ongoing investigations. We are grateful to the public for their response to these appeals. Officers are actively exploring a number of lines of enquiry.
Tomorrow (Saturday, 21 October) we are expecting another significant demonstration in central London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
The demonstration is due to begin at Marble Arch at midday, proceeding along Park Lane, via Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square and ending up in Whitehall.
There were concerns that last week, a stage where speeches took place was placed immediately next to the Cenotaph.
This week the stage will be placed away from the Cenotaph, next to King Charles Street.
More than 1,000 officers from the Met will be deployed to police the event. They include public order trained officers, roads policing teams, mounted units, dog units and police staff who are providing essential support.
We are also grateful for the support of the British Transport Police and the City of London Police.
As we have done on previous occasions, we will be inviting representatives from the Jewish and Muslim communities to our operations room so that we can benefit from their valuable insight and advice.
We will police this demonstration impartially, protecting the right to protest while intervening or gathering evidence for subsequent investigation where offences take place.
We will not stand by if we see examples of hate crime taking place. We will intervene.
Conditions
A number of conditions have been imposed on the main demonstration and on a smaller demonstration which is taking place at the same time between the Egyptian and Turkish embassies, organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain.
The conditions are detailed below.
Section 12 Public Order Act:
Any person participating in the ‘Palestine Solidarity Campaign procession must not deviate from the route specified on the map below.
Section 12 Public Order Act:
Any person participating in the Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain procession must not deviate from the route specified on the map below.
Section 14 Public Order Act:
Any person participating in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign protest or the Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain protest must not enter the area shaded in red on the map below.
The area in red referred to is in the vicinity of the Israeli embassy.
We will keep the question of further conditions, such as those on face coverings, under review.
Proscribed organisations
It is important to remember that while supporting the Palestinian cause or criticising Israel is not, in itself, unlawful, any support for a proscribed organisation such as Hamas or Hezbollah is unlawful.
Anyone wearing, carrying or otherwise displaying symbols that are supportive of a proscribed organisation can be arrested.
The same is true for chanting or slogans.
There will be some slogans and chants that are obviously lawful or unlawful, but there will be others that are the subject of intense public debate where different groups interpret the language used in different ways.
It falls to the police to weigh up all these factors and to reach a clear position on how officers should be directed to respond, taking into account context, relevant legislation and the practicalities of operational policing.
One particular chant that has been the subject of extensive discussion is ‘Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea’. This is a chant that has been frequently heard at pro-Palestinian demonstrations for many years. We are well aware of the strength of feeling in relation to it.
While we can envisage scenarios where chanting these words could be unlawful, such as outside a synagogue or Jewish school, or directly at a Jewish person or group intended to intimidate, it is likely that its use in a wider protest setting, such as we anticipate this weekend, would not be an offence and would not result in arrests.
This is just one example of the difficult decisions facing officers.
Policing – and in particular public order policing – is rarely as straightforward as it may appear to commentators or the public looking on.
Our officers will use their best judgement to police Saturday’s demonstration and any future demonstrations without fear or favour.
We would ask for the public and the media’s understanding as they do so.
One of London’s great strengths as a city is the way we come together in response to adversity.
We know that there is trauma and suffering in our Jewish and Muslim communities at the moment, but we also know that division between those communities will not benefit anyone.
There will be those who try to use this period of uncertainty as an opportunity to stir up hate but we know there are many more people – from community representatives to faith leaders to ordinary members of the public – who will not let that happen.
As a police service we will continue to support and stand alongside them.
Police have made two arrests as they investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a man in Hounslow.
David Ackerley, 45 , was reported missing at around 09:30hrs on Sunday, 8 October. A short time later officers attended his address in Cedar Court, Boston Manor Road, where he was found deceased.
His next of kin were informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.
A special post-mortem examination determined brain swelling and a bleed on the brain as the primary cause of death.
Detectives from Specialist Crime are investigating.
On Thursday, 19 October a man [A] aged 33 and a woman [B] aged 35 were arrested in the Uxbridge area on suspicion of murder and theft. They are in police custody.
Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Grogan said: “David’s grieving family have many questions about what happened to him, and we are now trying to provide them with answers.
“Part of this important work is building a picture of David’s life, the people he associated with and incidents he was involved in.
“We know David was assaulted outside his address in Boston Manor Road around 20:30hrs on Saturday, 30 September, during which he sustained an injury to his face that required hospital treatment. This was under investigation.
“I’m sure many people will know and recognise David from the local area. He had his vulnerabilities and people will have seen him out and about.
“Two people arrested are now in police custody, but we still need the public’s help to know more about David, or about any incidents he might have been involved in. Please contact us without delay.”
Anyone with information or material like pictures and video that could help police can submit it directly to officers via this web link – https://mipp.police.uk/operation/01MPS23V82-PO1 – or using the QR code below.
Alternatively call 101 or post @MetCC ref 0524683/23., or to remain 100% anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A man who repeatedly raped and physically assaulted a woman he knew in Southwark has been jailed following an investigation by Met detectives.
Detectives worked diligently to secure this conviction by obtaining digital and medical evidence to present in court, as the victim-survivor became too terrified to give her evidence.
Ahmedshah Naizi, 20 (21.01.03), of no fixed address was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday, 19 October after been found guilty of four counts of rape, one count of intentional suffocation, one count of actual bodily harm, one count of assault by battery, and one count of coercive and controlling behaviour.
Detective Constable Michelle Elisio, from the Met’s Specialist Crime team, who carried out the investigation, said: “I would like to commend the courage and strength of the woman in reporting these offences to police and hope that she feels some comfort knowing her attacker is now behind bars.
“We worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure Naizi received this sentence, despite instilling so much fear in his victim that she didn’t feel able to speak in court.
“I hope Naizi’s conviction sends a powerful message to others who feel trapped in a cycle of violence in an abusive relationship; please contact police – we have specially trained officers who will support you, investigate the allegations with the aim of putting those responsible before the courts.”
He raped the woman on four occasions in violent circumstances, on one occasion strangling her and on another holding a pillow over her face.
Throughout their relationship Naizi controlled her everyday tasks. He would not allow her to collect a prescription without him, controlled her finances as well as prevented her from seeing friends and family. If she attempted to leave the address, he would berate her or physically assault her by twisting her arms and legs, slapping and punching her and strangling her.
When the victim-survivor suffered a miscarriage, Naizi refused to let her seek medical care.
She bravely managed to secretly film some of the abuse, which was used as evidence in the trial. There was also digital phone evidence including a video, believed to have been filmed by Naizi of the woman unconscious and Naizi throwing water on her face to wake her up.
Specialist officers safeguarded the woman after she sort support from an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA). She provided two victim interviews during which she explained her abuse at the hands of Naizi. On a later date she withdrew her allegation showing the complexity and sensitivity of the case and the challenges of being able to investigate the crimes to secure a sentence.
PC Alice Pyne, a specialist officer supporting the victim-survivor throughout this investigation, said: “We fully understood why the victim-survivor withdrew her statement. We did not let this deter us, we continued to work tirelessly to ensure this man would never be able to harm her again and to give her all the support that she needed.
“I hope this investigation demonstrates the work we will do to put sexual offence perpetrators behind bars.”
Everyone has the right to feel safe in London and officers and staff continue to work every day with communities and our partners to make London safer so everyone can go about their daily lives without fear.
If you have been a victim of sexual assault or rape or you have information about an offender, contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency – there are specially trained officers who will listen and investigate where needed.
Further information, including details of agencies and charities that can offer support can be found on our website.
As part of A New Met for London plan, the Met is doing more to build trust and support our London’s communities with issues that impact them the most. The Met is putting more people and focus into the team’s protecting women and children from violence and going after predatory men who commit those crimes. To read more about our plans to tackle violence against women and girls read A New Met for London.