Category: United Kingdom

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

A man has been charged with murder following the death of a woman in Bexleyheath.

An investigation was launched on Friday, 15 November after officers were called at 08.22hrs to an address on Dunwich Road in Bexleyheath after concerns were raised about the safety of a woman.

Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and a woman was found with serious injuries.

Sadly, she died at the scene.

The victim has been formally identified as 81-year-old Carol James. Her family are aware and will continue to receive support from specialist officers.

A man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder.

Brian James, 81 (27.07.1943) of Dunwich Road, Bexleyheath has been charged with murder. He will appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, 20 November.

Detective Chief Inspector Craig Magee, whose team is leading the investigation, said: “This is a tragic incident where a family have lost a loved one.

“We ask that the public respect the privacy of Carol’s family during this difficult time.”

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

A Met officer has been charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm following an incident in which a man was tasered and suffered serious injuries.

PC Liam Newman, who is based on the East Area Command Unit, was charged via postal requisition following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). He will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 20 November.

The charge relates to an incident in Chigwell Road, Woodford on Sunday, 24 April 2022 during which a man in his 60s fell from a garage after being tasered by the officer. He sustained life-changing injuries.

Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, lead for policing in Redbridge, Havering and Barking and Dagenham said: “I am acutely aware of the level of public concern following this incident. Our officers understand it is vitally important to maintain public trust and confidence, and that such matters are thoroughly investigated. Given criminal proceedings are now active we must now allow the circumstances to be examined in open court.”

Following the incident, the Met referred the matter to IOPC which launched an independent investigation. In May 2023 the IOPC passed the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Any misconduct matters will be considered following the court process.

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Two Met officers have each been charged with four counts of sexual assault on a woman.

Police constables Jerome Beasley, aged 41, and Luke Robinson, aged 39, who are both attached to the Central West Command Unit, allegedly sexually assaulted the woman at a venue in W1 on Sunday, 21 April.

They were off-duty at the time.

The Directorate of Professional Standards is aware.

Both officers are currently suspended from duty and are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 20 November.

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Detectives are appealing for witnesses and any road users with dash cam footage to come forward following a fatal collision in Bexley.

Shortly after 23:30hrs on 15 November a 60-year-old pedestrian was in collision with a car on Vicarage Road, at its junction with Tile Kiln Lane, Bexley.

Officers, London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance attended, but despite the best efforts of the emergency services the man was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

His next of kin have been informed.

The car failed to stop at the scene.

A 45 year-old man subsequently attended a police station and was arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving and failing to stop at a collision. He remains in police custody.

Detectives are asking anyone who witnessed the collision, or anyone who was travelling on or near Vicarage Road at the time of the incident and may have captured events on dash cam to get in contact.

You can call the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 020 8246 9820 or dial 101 quoting CAD9294/15Oct.

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Following a Met investigation, Thomas Govan, 23 (08.11.2001) of Poulters Lane, Worthing was sentenced on Thursday, 14 November at Croydon Crown Court to 20 years in prison. He was also put on the sex offender register and was given a sexual harm prevention order.

Govan had previously pled guilty on Wednesday, 18 September at Croydon Crown Court to 25 charges including rape, sexual assault, making and distributing indecent images of children, and several counts of encouraging children to watch sexual acts.

Met officers began looking into Govan in May as part of an investigation into a global paedophile ring. This led officers to discover a chat group on Telegram, an encrypted chat service, in which Govan had sadistically groomed a 13-year-old girl to self-harm and degrade herself on camera before he sold these images to other paedophiles online. Met officers later found out that Govan had also met with the girl on two occasions, filming him raping and sexually assaulting her which he went on to distribute.

Met officers carefully worked with colleagues from Sussex Police and police in Australia to comb through online messages and gather digital evidence including photographs and mobile phone data. After Govan was arrested on Tuesday, 14 May, Met officers conducted hours of interviews with him. Met officers also worked closely with specially trained officers to carefully obtain victim impact statements and ensure that victim-survivors and their families were provided with support.

This collaborative effort has led to the dismantling of an international sex-offenders group with the group’s suspected ring leader arrested in Australia.

Acting Detective Sergeant Lucy Fiander, from the Met’s Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation unit said: “Govan’s abhorrent offending and the impact on the victim-survivor and their family cannot be underestimated. My heart goes out to all of those affected.

“I want to thank both the Met officersfor their diligence and professionalism, and the bravery of the victim-survivor and her family for their willingness to work with us. This has ensured a vile paedophile will no longer be able to take advantage of vulnerable children enjoying online games and chat rooms with their friends.

“We’ll do everything in our power to protect children, bringing to justice those predators who threaten their safety.”

Children and young people are the most vulnerable in society, and the Met is committed to keeping them safe in person and online. As part of the A New Met for London plan, officers are working closely with third sector partners, including The Children’s Society to help young people, parents and carers spot the signs of sexual abuse and predatory behaviour online and offline.

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

An officer has been dismissed after accessing police files relating to the disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard.

A former officer, who had previously resigned, would have been dismissed had she still been serving. A third officer was handed a final written warning.

The gross misconduct panel, chaired by an independent legally qualified chair, found that PC Myles McHugh, former Detective Constable Hannah Rebbeck and Sergeant Mark Harper had accessed information which was not undertaken in the course of their duties and/or had no proper policing purpose for doing so.

The panel heard that PC McHugh accessed the information while off duty and for a significant period of time, while former DC Hannah Rebbeck was found to have repeatedly accessed sensitive data without any link to her duties. These breaches of professional standards were so serious that the only appropriate outcome was dismissal.

Sgt Harper was handed a final written warning, to last for three years.

Detective Constable Tyrone Ward, former Inspector Akinwale Ajose-Adeogun and former Detective Sergent Robert Butters also faced the same misconduct hearing. Based on the evidence heard, the panel concluded that they did have a legitimate reason for accessing the relevant information and consequently did not breach the standards of police professional behaviour.

Another serving officer will face a separate gross misconduct hearing on a date to be set.

A member of police staff previously faced a private gross misconduct hearing and was dismissed.

None of the officers or staff had direct involvement in the criminal investigation into the murder of Sarah Everard, and no evidence was found that any individual had inappropriately shared information with any other individual.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: “Today as always, our thoughts remain with Sarah Everard’s family and friends. We have apologised to them for the added distress this case has caused and I recognise the wider questions and concerns this raises.

“Our officers and staff are regularly reminded that police systems and specific files must only be accessed where there is a legitimate policing purpose to do so. This includes reminder screens and warning pages when logging on to our software systems, as well as mandatory training on information management which must be completed by everyone within the organisation.

“It is clear the panel has carefully considered the circumstances of each individual case before coming to their conclusion that three officers had no acceptable reason for looking at this information.”

Following the murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021, a dedicated taskforce of experienced investigators from the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards carried out an audit of those who had accessed files relating to her disappearance and the subsequent investigation. The audit looked at whether those who had accessed these files did so with a proper policing purpose.

Investigators scrutinised each case to determine what the officer or staff member had viewed, the reasons and motivation they gave for such viewings and whether it had been externally shared.

This resulted in the seven officers above being served with gross misconduct notices and appearing in front of the hearing.

In total, 104 officers and staff (68 officers and 36 staff members) were initially identified as potentially accessing files relating to the investigation without a legitimate policing purpose.

+ All cases were examined and concluded as follows:

Gross misconduct hearing: Eight

Misconduct meeting – written warning issued: 10

Misconduct meeting – referred for reflective practice: 16

Misconduct meeting – no further action: Four

Reflective Practice (no requirement for referral to a misconduct meeting): 38

No further action (no requirement for a referral to a misconduct meeting): 28

Cases assessed as at the level of gross misconduct included those where the individual had inappropriately accessed a system and provided a non-plausible explanation for doing so, had accessed more than one system or accessed systems more than once, and/or was in a position of supervision, rank or responsibility.

Those who were subject to reflective practice attended bespoke, face-to-face sessions designed to improve their understanding about appropriate access to police systems.

DAC Cundy added: “The vast majority of those who had inappropriately accessed information admitted they had done so out of curiosity. When spoken to, they were remorseful, apologised, admitted poor judgement and were keen to engage in training. All of this was taken into account when determining the most appropriate outcome for each individual.

“We know that honest mistakes can be made and the most serious outcomes relate to those who were deliberately evasive or tried to avoid accountability. Those actions are not compatible with the values of the Met.”

Details of officers:

Proven to have breached standards of confidentiality, orders and instructions and discreditable conduct:

Sergeant Mark Harper, attached to Met Detention

PC Myles McHugh, attached to Roads and Transport Policing

Former T/Detective Constable Hannah Rebbeck, previously attached to South West BCU

Breaches not proven:

Detective Constable Tyrone Ward, then attached to South West BCU

Former Inspector Akinwale Ajose-Adeogun, previously attached to Met Detention

Former Detective Sergeant Robert Butters, previously attached to Central South BCU

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

The family of a 77-year-old man who died, following a stabbing in Walworth last weekend have paid tribute to him.

Hilkiah McLeggan, known to his family and friends as Mac or LLoyde died following a serious assault at 10:40hrson East Street, SE17 on Sunday, 10 November.

Following his death, his family have said the following:

“Hilkiah McLeggan (Mac or Lloyde to his friends and family) was a warm, kind, and generous man who would do anything for his friends and family. He was a hard-working man who worked on past his retirement because he knew he could offer more of himself and enjoyed being amongst his colleagues who were also his friends.

“He was a great support to so many and would offer his help without hesitation to support their needs. His family and friends are devastated and are struggling to make sense this terrible event.

“The family would like to express their gratitude to everyone that has expressed their condolences and those that have set up a special memorial at East Street Market that he frequented so often for many decades.

“The family would also like to thank all the wonderful people at East Street Market who on Remembrance Sunday showed such bravery in apprehending the suspect to prevent any more lives and hearts being broken.

“Heartfelt gratitude is expressed to those that stopped to come his aid including the LAS in an attempt to save him and those that prayed for him in his final moments. The family would also thank the police who are supporting them while they try to process their grief and ask for privacy while they come to terms with such a tragic, senseless and devastating loss.

“The family encourage those who have been affected by this to seek help and support if needed. Our best wishes are extended to the other victims and their family. We hope they have a positive outcome and wish them well on their recovery.”

A man has since been charged in connection with the investigation. More information can be found on our website: UPDATED: Man charged following fatal stabbing in Walworth | Metropolitan Police

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Detectives are appealing to the public to help them find a man who is wanted for breaching his court bail conditions ahead of his rape trial.

Craig Dorney, 35, of Lewisham, breached his bail conditions and as a result a bench warrant was issued for his arrest on Tuesday, 12 November.

His is due to stand trial for rape on Monday, 2 December.

Detectives have now released an image of Dorney.

DC James Hart, from the South East area’s Public Protection team, said: “We would urge anyone with information regarding Dorney’s whereabouts to urgently get in touch with us. We believe that he might currently be sleeping rough in and around London.”

Dorney is described as white, about 6ft1, of slim build. He has a southern Irish accent.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call police on 101 or message @MetCC on X quoting CAD 1240/29Jun.

Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.