logo
Police officer fighting for life after on-duty traffic incident is named - as four people arrested

Police officer fighting for life after on-duty traffic incident is named - as four people arrested

Sky News25-05-2025
A police officer left fighting for his life after being seriously injured in a road traffic incident while on duty has been named.
Thames Valley Police said PC Christopher Miller, 38, remained in a critical, life-threatening condition in hospital following the incident on the B416 in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, at about 10.20pm on Thursday.
According to the force, PC Miller has spent five years with the roads policing unit and has been in the police for 13 years, and his family are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers.
Thames Valley Police said a white BMW did not stop following the incident, and police are asking anyone who may have seen a vehicle with significant damage to the front to get in touch.
Officers are also continuing to appeal for witnesses or anyone who may have footage.
Two men from Slough, aged 28 and 38, have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
A 43-year-old man, also from Slough, has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice. He has been released on bail.
On Sunday, a 37-year-old woman from Slough was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice.
Thames Valley Police Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs said: "Today, I am asking for the public's help to share this witness appeal.
"Police officers face danger every day. In this incident, PC Christopher Miller was simply doing his job, serving the public and keeping our communities safe.
"Sadly, Christopher has sustained extremely serious injuries, and we are doing all we can to investigate the exact circumstances.
"All officers should expect to return home safely after each tour of duty, and we wish Christopher a swift and full recovery.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

BBC apologises to Robert Jenrick over suggestions he is xenophobic
BBC apologises to Robert Jenrick over suggestions he is xenophobic

The Independent

timea minute ago

  • The Independent

BBC apologises to Robert Jenrick over suggestions he is xenophobic

The BBC has apologised to Robert Jenrick after a refugee charity boss suggested the shadow justice secretary is xenophobic during one of its radio shows. While appearing on Radio 4 's Today programme on Wednesday, Krish Kandiah, a director of Sanctuary Foundation, claimed Mr Jenrick had increased 'fear of the stranger' among people. Mr Kandiah added: 'The technical name for this is xenophobia. 'All phobias are by definition irrational. Nevertheless, they have a huge impact. 'Over the past year, xenophobia has fuelled angry protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, deepening divisions in our communities.' Mr Jenrick later accused the broadcaster of smearing 'millions of worried citizens as 'xenophobic' for their completely understandable fears'. In a letter to the Conservative MP, the broadcaster's head of editorial standards Roger Mahony said the comments went 'well beyond' what is expected of its Thought For The Day segment. Mr Mahony said: 'I have concluded that, while its reflection on fear in society from a faith perspective is broadly in line with expectations of Thought For The Day, some of the language it used went beyond that. 'I have asked for the two references to xenophobia to be edited from the programme on BBC Sounds. Please accept my apology for their original inclusion.' The content has since been removed from the programme on BBC Sounds. Mr Jenrick said: 'Illegal migration is obviously fuelling crime and the public are right to be concerned about it. 'It's extremely disappointing the BBC thought it was acceptable to smear millions of worried citizens as 'xenophobic' for their completely understandable fears about undocumented men entering illegally.' A series of protests have been held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, over recent weeks after an asylum seeker was accused of attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, denies the charges of sexual assault and is due to stand trial this month. In a statement, the BBC said: 'During this episode of Thought For The Day, criticism was made of recent comments by shadow secretary of state for justice Robert Jenrick, about hotels housing asylum seekers. 'While the programme's reflection on fear in society from a faith perspective was broadly in line with expectations of Thought For The Day, some of the language used went beyond that and we apologise for its inclusion. 'It has been removed from the version on BBC Sounds.'

Ex-Reform MP James McMurdock cleared by watchdog over Covid loans
Ex-Reform MP James McMurdock cleared by watchdog over Covid loans

Times

time2 minutes ago

  • Times

Ex-Reform MP James McMurdock cleared by watchdog over Covid loans

A former Reform MP has been told to officially declare his directorship of a company that is facing questions over government-backed Covid loans. The parliamentary commissioner for standards said that James McMurdock should formally register his role in Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited after a complaint that he had broken Commons rules. However, the commissioner cleared McMurdock of withholding the information after hearing evidence that he was advised by the Commons authorities that it was unnecessary. McMurdock quit Reform in July after a Sunday Times investigation into £70,000 of loans taken by companies with which he was associated under the government's bounce back loans scheme during the pandemic. One was JAM Financial Limited, which had no employees and negligible assets until the pandemic. In 2020 it took out a loan of £50,000, the maximum sum available under the scheme for medium-sized businesses. For a company to have received such a loan, it would have needed to report turnover of at least £200,000. The other was Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited, which was dormant until January 31, 2020. Over the following year it borrowed £20,000, which would have required a turnover of £80,000 under the bounce back scheme. Neither company filed accounts or annual corporate filings after the loans — a violation of the Companies Act 2006. As a result of the failure to submit the information required, both companies were due to be struck off the register, meaning they would have ceased to exist and any remaining assets would have been seized by the Crown. However, in February 2023, on the same day, the process of suspending both companies was halted after the company regulator received an objection from a third party. It is understood that this was related to the loans in some way. Both remain active on Companies House. McMurdock said that he was pleased to have been cleared by the commissioner, adding that he had spoken to other government agencies and there was 'no other investigation that I am aware of that requires my support'. He added: 'This was a malicious attack, without substance, designed to damage my reputation. It has failed.'

Illegal immigrant who taunted Brits on TikTok fled Germany for ‘soft touch' Britain after travelling from Afghanistan
Illegal immigrant who taunted Brits on TikTok fled Germany for ‘soft touch' Britain after travelling from Afghanistan

The Sun

time2 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Illegal immigrant who taunted Brits on TikTok fled Germany for ‘soft touch' Britain after travelling from Afghanistan

AN illegal migrant who taunted Brits on TikTok from his taxpayer-funded hotel room fled Germany for 'soft-touch' Britain. The Sun told yesterday how he racked up a million views by boasting of crossing the Channel by dinghy, saying: 'Tell your friends to come.' 9 9 9 He posted a step-by-step guide to reaching the UK before hosting a Q&A in the Afghan dialect Pashto. Today we can reveal he swapped stays in Germany and France — two safe countries — to reach 'soft-touch' Britain, one of 434 boat arrivals on Saturday. The man, using the online handle Alexandra420, was moved to a hotel near Heathrow from where he shared eight clips encouraged others to make the journey. It also emerged that months before coming here, he warned Afghan asylum seekers they could be sent home from Germany. Following our investigation, TikTok has taken down his account for promoting people-smuggling. Last night Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp blasted: 'This illegal immigrant had multiple opportunities to claim asylum in other European countries before choosing to come here. 'The Home Office and police should be urgently investigating this man for encouraging others to enter the UK illegally and producing a step-by-step guide showing them how to cross. 'Facilitating illegal immigration is a criminal offence. Enough is enough. "Everyone crossing the Channel illegally by small boat must be removed either to their home country or a safe third country. The Labour government need to get a grip of this crisis.' Mr Philp called for the return of the Rwanda deportation scheme, proposed by the Tories under Boris Johnson and dropped by Sir Keir Starmer on Day One of his premiership. Small boat migrants given taxpayer-funded days out including dinghy trips & £1 Prem tickets as farcical perks exposed Since then, 50,716 migrants have entered on a small boat — including 445 on Tuesday. Removals to Afghanistan have been paused since the Taliban seized control in 2021. It meant the TikTok influencer knew when entering the UK that he would likely not be deported. 9 9 He is believed to have stayed in Germany for a substantial time. But he decided to seek better benefits in Britain after posting about a plan by far-right party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) to deport all illegal migrants. It would have seen the mass return of asylum seekers had the party won February's elections. The current German government is also exploring deporting failed asylum seekers to nations other than their home country. Everyone crossing the Channel illegally by small boat must be removed either to their home country or a safe third country Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp Mocking taxpayers The influencer posted a video of AfD firebrand leader Alice Weidel, in which she claimed: 'The Afghans are a nation that grew up in a war-torn environment. 'We know this fact and we do not deny it. But it does not matter to me where they came from or what conditions they grew up in. 'When they reach Germany, they must respect the laws, customs and culture of this country. young people who appear in German streets in military uniforms…they are clearly from the battlefield, not from the borders of Europe. 'I say this as a warning, not a threat. Learn the civil attitude. Otherwise, perhaps where you came from is more suitable for you.' The asylum seeker wrote of the video: 'Listen to this woman's speech, and indeed, she has spoken what she means. 'This law will be applied to Afghans at the earliest opportunity.' In shared social posts he poses in front of Berlin's Altes Museum, and in a keffiyeh headdress. In another he showed off the city's Alexanderplatz. In a third he sits in front of a bridge in a blue t-shirt, jeans and trainers. He captioned the photo with a location pin emoji, the French flag, and wrote: 'France'. Another photo shows him at an unidentified train station platform wearing a black puffer jacket with cream cargo trousers. We can also reveal he changed his TikTok bio after entering the UK to include a British flag — mocking taxpayers stumping up billions to put up 32,000 people in around 210 migrant hotels. In his 45-minute Q&A session, livestreamed on TikTok on Tuesday, he told his 70,000 followers: 'Finally, I left Germany. Then they moved me into France.' Later, he attempted to make a sarcastic joke by claiming he had not come from Germany — despite admitting it multiple times. A follower asked: 'Brother, have you been to Berlin or not?' The man replied: 'Yes – oh, no, no, I haven't been there, brother. I've never been to Berlin.' He then laughed for several seconds before adding: 'And I've never lived in Germany. Not for one second.' 9 9 9 Appearing to admit he had been rejected for asylum in mainland Europe, he went on: 'What should I do in a country that rejects me? 'I didn't get acceptance, I got nothing. I'm crazy to live there?' Referring to Britain's generous perks, he said: 'There's nothing there. Only here.' Later, in the livestream, he admitted: 'Everything in the story is about acceptance. 'There is no need for my attention there (in Germany) anymore. 'I came from a faraway place, aboard a ship.' After arriving in Dover, he was taken to the processing centre at Manston, Kent, and given standard-issue clothes, some of which he appears to wear in the video. He was then transferred to the Crowne Plaza near Heathrow. The hotel is a stopover for many asylum seekers before switch to more permanent accomodation. Yesterday more migrants came and went from the hotel, which is contracted by the Home Office after previosuly operating as a four-star stopover for holidaymakers and businesspeople. A TikTok spokeswoman said yesterday: 'We take a zero-tolerance approach to content promoting human smuggling, this account has been banned and we remove the vast majority of content before it is even reported. 'Through industry-leading search interventions and close collaboration with the UK National Crime Agency, we work to identify and disrupt organised immigration crime online, adapting our efforts to meet evolving threats.' A Home Office spokeswoman said: 'It is our longstanding policy not to comment on operational matters or individual cases.' 9 BBC edit for 'xenophobia' THE BBC was yesterday forced to apologise after a Radio 4 programme branded fears about illegal migrants as 'xenophobic'. A guest singled out Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick for saying he did not want his children 'sharing a neighbourhood with men from backward countries who broke into Britain illegally.' On Thought for the Day, Dr Krish Kandiah said: 'These words echo a fear — fear of the stranger. The technical name is xenophobia.' Jenrick slammed the comments and the BBC edited the show. It said: 'While its reflection on fear in society from a faith perspective is broadly in line with expectations of the programme, some of the language it used went beyond that and we apologise.' Migrant in court over 'hotel kiss' By Rachel Dale A MIGRANT appeared in court yesterday charged with sexually assaulting a man at an asylum hotel targeted by protesters. Mohammed Sharwarq, 32, is accused of kissing him on the neck without his consent after approaching from behind on Tuesday night at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex. Sharwarq indicated a not guilty plea at Chelmsford magistrates' court but admitted two counts of common assault and four counts of assault by beating during a clash with other men. District Judge Lynette Woodrow set a hearing date of September 30. She remanded Sharwarq in custody, as she was not satisfied he would otherwise return to court. Protests started outside the hotel last month after an asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old local girl.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store