Latest news with #Farringdon
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Prolific phone snatcher who jumped out of car to stab aristocrat's footballer grandson, 20, to death with a machete 'in botched mobile theft' is jailed for 24 years
A prolific phone snatcher who jumped out a car to stab an aristocrat's grandson to death with a machete has been jailed for a minimum of 24 years. Oguzcan Dereli, 27, knifed 20-year-old Abdul-Latif Pouget, 20, in the thigh near Farringdon station on October 18 last year. Mr Pouget was the grandson of Baron Pouget, while his great-grandfather had been banker George de Vere Drummond, godson of King George VI. The Pouget family has links to Chateau Pouget, a winery in the Margaux appellation of Bordeaux, France. Known as 'Abz', the victim was a talented footballer and played on the left wing for Zaza FC in the Barnet Sunday Football League, the Old Bailey heard. He was sitting on his moped in Back Hill at the time of the attack. Dereli was caught on CCTV stabbing Mr Pouget with the machete before speeding off in the car. He has an appalling criminal record of 39 previous convictions and was jailed for 18 months in 2018 for a series of phone thefts in north London while riding pillion on the back of a moped. Mr Pouget fought for his life for three days before he died in hospital. Dereli, who was working as a cannabis dealer at the time, denied but was convicted by an Old Bailey jury of murder and having an offensive weapon. Mr Pouget's brother, Badruddin, turned to address Dereli in the dock as he gave a victim impact statement from the witness box. 'Mr Dereli, when Abz was nine you had your first conviction,' he said. 'When Abz was collecting medals you were collecting bank cards and snatching phones from strangers. You were caught hiding under a mattress.' Badruddin said his brother was 'a young man who, unlike you, was loved for who he was, not feared for what he might do'. He added: 'I hope that justice might speak for Abz now since you never let him speak again.' The motive for the murder is unclear, although the prosecution claimed Dereli was attempting to steal Mr Pouget's mobile phone as he sat on his bike. There was also a suggestion the two men had fallen out over a debt. The victim's mother Kawsar Pouget said in a statement that her son was 'kind, respectful, polite and humble'. 'He was a talented and gifted footballer who was a role model to those younger than him. He was young, intelligent and full of promise,' Mrs Pouget added. The mother said her son, who was one of seven children, had hoped to become a professional footballer. 'He bought warmth and laughter to every room. His murder shattered the natural order of things and has broken something deep within us. 'Every member of the family carries this loss. Our family gatherings now take place at the graveside.' Dereli told the court Mr Pouget had wrongly accused him of robbery and he had got out the car to confront him, using the machete for protection. Mr Pouget pulled up his moped at Back Hill at 9.27pm on October 18 last year. A minute later the Ford Focus estate driven by Dereli turned into that hill from Clerkenwell Road. 'As he left the car he had a large machete in his right hand. He ran straight over to Mr Pouget who was still sat on his moped,' prosecutor Danny Robinson said earlier. 'He struck him with the machete and then stabbed him with it to his right thigh. The stab wound severed an artery causing instant massive blood loss and Mr Pouget collapsed on the pavement. 'The defendant got back in his car with the machete and drove off leaving Mr Pouget fighting for his life on the floor.' The whole incident had taken just 13 seconds. 'Members of the public and one of Mr Pouget's friends tried to help him as did paramedics and police officers,' Mr Robinson said. 'He was taken to Royal London Hospital but despite the best efforts of all those involved in his care he died at 11.15am on 21 October.' At the time of the murder, Dereli's partner had recently given birth but he had never seen the child, claiming he was 'scared'. He was with another woman when he checked into the Easy Hotel on Old Street on the evening of October 19. Dereli was arrested there the following morning but the murder weapon was never recovered. The court heard his family of eleven were Kurdish asylum seekers who all lived in a three bedroomed council flat. His father was unemployed and his mother was too ill to work. Dereli, of Holloway, denied but was convicted of murder and having an offensive weapon. Passing sentence Judge Sarah Whitehouse said: 'I am not satisfied this was a murder carried out in the circumstances of a robbery. 'We shall probably never know why you decided to get out of your car and run over and stab Mr Pouget.' But the judge added there had been rumours of a disagreement over a debt. 'Some of the rumours were that you and Mr Pouget had an altercation that very evening in which he had got the better of you and your friends had encouraged you to go out and seek revenge,' the judge said. 'I am satisfied you had formed the intention to cause him really serious bodily harm when you stopped and got out of your car at speed, carrying that machete. 'Your actions caused incalculable distress to Abdul-Latif Pouget's family.' Dereli, who was smartly dressed in a suit and tie, showed no trace of emotion as he was sentenced and did not look back at the packed public gallery as he was led to the cells.
The Sun
11-07-2025
- The Sun
Woman in early twenties ‘sexually assaulted at ticket barriers in London Underground station' as cops issue CCTV of man
A man also made kiss gestures towards the young woman TUBE HORROR Woman in early twenties 'sexually assaulted at ticket barriers in London Underground station' as cops issue CCTV of man A WOMAN in her early 20s was allegedly sexually assaulted near the ticket barriers of a Tube station. Detectives released a CCTV image of a man in a black and red jumper wearing a rucksack after the ordeal at Farringdon station in London. On Thursday 12 June, at around 9.50pm, a woman in her early twenties was stood near the Tube barrier with a friend. Cops said a man sexually assaulted her and then made kiss gestures towards her. Detectives believe the man in the CCTV image may have information that could help with their investigation. Anyone who recognises him is asked to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016, or by calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 739 of 12 June. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The Guardian
07-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Grate expectations: cheese toasties are having a moment, and I'm all for it
A dispatch from the menus of the capital's fancier pubs, Instagram restaurants and wine bars: there's a new favourite dish in town. Though maybe 'new' is the wrong word. Cropping up in the types of establishments where you'll easily pay a fiver for olives is the humble but universally beloved cheese toastie. I'd call it a renaissance, but that would ignore the fact that the toastie is and has been for decades a staple of busy lunches, sick days and CBA dinners, when all you're after is instant satisfaction. Let's say instead, then, that the cheese toastie has had a bit of a culinary glow-up. I've seen them recently on lots of different menus across London. Bar Levan in Peckham lists a croque monsieur, while the Library, a swish cocktail bar in Maida Vale, promises a straight-up toastie dripping with strong cheese, plus tart chutney served on the side for dipping. Elsewhere, Farringdon's Quality Wines – whose head chef, Nick Bramham, is something of a trendsetter across the capital when it comes to sharing menus – has also had a croque monsieur on the pass (replete with provolone, Brie de Meaux, Prince de Paris ham and truffles), while the Knave of Clubs in Shoreditch has devoted a whole section of its menu to toasties. Marceline in Canary Wharf recently held a croque monsieur competition, where chefs competed to have their sandwich crowned top of the croques. If you ask me, this is all excellent news, first because who has ever refused hot molten cheese between slices of crisp bread after one to three drinks? Second, the sudden prevalence of the toastie in restaurants signals a sea change among the attitudes of people designing more 'upmarket' menus. Where once it felt like these were lists of dishes detailing what chefs thought the rest of us should want to eat – plates of meats with uncommon provenances (sorry to say, these tend to pretty much taste like premium supermarket salami), or patés en croûte that take dozens of steps to create – now it's more like they're catering to what the majority of people actually want. Cheese toasties and croque monsieurs represent accessible, widely enjoyed flavours, and while I'd agree with the purists who say the two are not the same, the comfort-food sentiments they convey are inarguably pretty similar. Either way, it's reasonable to ask: why the change in outlook on small plates menus? As with most things concerning food and lifestyle trends, we can probably look to social media. While quality ingredients are as important as ever, the ability to grab attention now plays a huge part in the success of a dish, particularly in the Instagram economy, where a great photo can cause a viral sensation. The XXL three-cheese toastie at the Wigmore in central London, for example, has been a staple on the menu for years, foreshadowing the 2025 trend, largely because it looks so impressive. Not all of the toasties I'm thinking of here are extra-extra-large, but they do appeal to people's sense of novelty and nostalgia – both of which hit hard on social media. Dishes like cheese toasties stand out on a posh menu precisely because they typically feel so ordinary – and in recent times, everything from Viennetta to bread and butter pudding has been given the restaurant treatment. Chefs and potential customers scrolling through the algorithm get excited by new twists on familiar dishes, or the opportunity to make or try an 'ultimate' version of a classic: look at Quality Wines' superlative version of the croque, for example. As such, the cheese toastie boom feels like a symptom of that impulse – a bit like an updated version of the gourmet burger boom of the early 2000s. Ultimately, cheese toasties popping up on the menus of wine bars and posh pubs is a positive thing. This is a hearty, filling dish, which, let's be honest, feels like better value for money than a plate of fancy charcuterie. Plus, it also seems to signal movement in the small plates world. Of course, where a bougie wine bar is found, a devilled egg won't be far behind, but these places are now beginning to serve a few more dishes that cater to the appetites that see us craving kebabs and chips after a night of drinking. Life, as they say, is all about balance. Lauren O'Neill is a culture writer
