Latest news with #MetPolice
The Sun
3 hours ago
- General
- The Sun
Woman in her 20s knifed to death in morning attack as cops launch murder probe
A MURDER investigation has been launched after a woman was fatally stabbed in broad daylight in a busy town centre. The young woman, in her 20s, tragically died at the scene in Croydon, south London, shortly after 9am today. 5 5 Emergency services were scrambled to a secluded back alley off Frith Road, located just minutes from the popular Centrale Shopping Centre in the heart of Croydon. Cops believe the incident started at a nearby address. Sebastian, who was making his way back from the gym, told how he rushed to help two people with stab wounds. Speaking to The Sun, he said: "I heard people panicking and someone shouting for help. "Everyone was too scared to go down that alleyway, but when I saw someone bleeding I knew I needed to help. "I ran over to go and look - some people told me not to go - but it was a natural reaction. "I'm still shaken up by it, seeing something like that. She seemed so young, such a beautiful young girl." The Met confirmed that officers had been called to the scene at 9.07am following reports of a stabbing. A spokesperson for the force said: " Police were called to Firth Road at 09:07hrs on Saturday, 31 May following reports of a stabbing. 5 5 "Officers attended with the London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance, who treated two injured people at the scene. "A woman in her 20s sadly died at the scene. A man in his 30s was taken to hospital with minor injuries. "He has since been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in hospital. "A scene is currently in place near to the location and those in the area can expect to see a police presence throughout the weekend. "Detectives are in the early stages of establishing what has happened, but initial enquiries suggest the incident begun at a nearby address, before escalating onto Frith Road."
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
I watched maniac hack his own neck with kitchen knife & took on infamous ‘suicide bomber'…my life as hostage negotiator
One particularly tragic case continues to haunt ex-Met chief John Sutherland to this day EDGE OF DISASTER I watched maniac hack his own neck with kitchen knife & took on infamous 'suicide bomber'…my life as hostage negotiator Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AS filing cabinets, chairs and shattered glass rained from the sky, John Sutherland felt like he was in a scene from the apocalypse. Hours earlier a man wearing a suicide vest and wielding a homemade flamethrower had stormed offices on London's Tottenham Court Road and taken terrified hostages, including a pregnant woman. 10 John Sutherland spent 26 years with the Met Police, working as a hostage negotiator Credit: Supplied 10 Suspected 'terrorist' Michael Green was arrested over the 'Siege of London' of 2012 Credit: Sky News 10 Cabinets, chairs and computers were thrown from the windows of an office block on Tottenham Court Road Credit: AFP 10 The suspect is led away by police Credit: David Hartley More than 1,000 workers, shoppers and tourists were evacuated as it was feared the 'terrorist' had enough explosives to 'bring the whole building down with everyone in it'. Dubbed 'the Siege of London', it was an exceptionally-high alert situation due to it being three months before the 2012 Summer Olympics. 'It was one of the most extraordinary days of my whole career,' former Met Police Chief Superintendent John, now 55, tells us. 'I was on the scene working out what on earth to do when I heard the sound of glass shattering. I looked up and a window was being broken. 'A series of office equipment - computers, furniture, cabinets, everything - rained down onto the street below. It was genuinely apocalyptic.' Fortunately, despite threatening to "blow everyone up", the suspect's bomb jacket was fake and the attacker wasn't a terrorist but a disgruntled HGV driver. Ex-BNP candidate Michael Green, then 48, carried out the siege to retrieve £1,000 he paid for a driving course after failing his exams twice and feeling he had 'nothing left to live for'. Green forced his hostages to lob office supplies through a window to 'liquidise some assets'. 'He raided their offices as way to settle his grievances after some form of meltdown,' John says. 'It could have ended terribly but we managed to get him and everyone out unscathed.' It's one of many colourful tales from the retired Met officer, who has mined his experiences over 26 years as a hostage and crisis negotiator to pen his Sunday Times bestselling crime thriller, The Castle. I'm a cop turned vigilante who hunted down a one-man crime wave after police turned a blind eye In an exclusive interview, John explains that unlike in Hollywood movies, 90 per cent of his work was 'holding out a hand' to those in crisis on 'the worst day of their lives'. He tackled dozens of threats in London and recalled the simple question he was routinely asked before being dispatched on a job: 'Are you ready to save a life?' 'Whether it was 3am or in the middle of the afternoon, when you heard those words it focused the mind, because it was the only thing that mattered,' John says. 'I've always said the greatest duty and privilege for any police officer is to save the life of another human being, and that is the exact job of a negotiator.' 10 Debris from the office equipment thrown out of a window Credit: Getty 10 Armed police and snipers raced to the scene in April 2012 Credit: Reuters Stand-off tragedy Despite that, it was a deeply challenging and emotionally turbulent role which is voluntary within the police force. When on shift, negotiators are on-call 24 hours a day for that week. Most stand-offs go on for a few hours, but John said it was not unusual for them to last two to three days. One of the longest he was involved with was the tragic Markham Square siege in London's Chelsea on May 6, 2008. John was the negotiator for the five-hour stand-off which ended with wealthy divorce barrister Mark Saunders being shot dead by police. The 32-year-old, who had represented presenter Chris Tarrant, had fired shotgun rounds from his £2.2million home during a mental health episode linked to alcohol and drugs. 10 Barrister Mark Saunders died during a stand-off with police Credit: Handout 10 John tried to talk down the shotgun-wielding barrister for five hours Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 10 Mark Saunders during the Markham Square stand-off Credit: Handout Out of respect for Mark's widow, John only says a few words about the tragedy, admitting: 'It was one of the days that will stay with me for the rest of my life.' Previously in his memoir, Blue, John mournfully explained how "a man died on my watch", and he was "the last living soul to hold a conversation with him". Another harrowing encounter saw John talk down an Eastern European man who was threatening to throw himself from the 17th floor of a block of flats in Islington overlooking Arsenal's Emirates stadium. 'He was standing on the wrong side of the window on a ledge that was six inches wide, if that,' John recalls. 'Inexplicably, the windows opened into space with no balconies. It was one of the days that will stay with me for the rest of my life John Sutherland 'I don't know how long I was with him, all I know was that it was a hell of a long way down and any of the next moments could have been his last. 'It was difficult talking to him because I didn't speak his language, but as a negotiator you try to find common humanity and understand the story of the person you're dealing with. 'For him it was a perfect storm of being unable to get a job because he had no address, but not being able to have an address because he didn't have a job.' John admits he had no idea whether he would be able to coax the man back inside after he'd reached such a heartbreaking 'point of desperation', but thankfully he succeeded. Heartbroken OAP John tells us the key to a successful hostage negotiation is the art of listening, as was proven in an extraordinary case at an old people's home. Upon arriving, John was taken into a communal area where a man in his 80s sat in an armchair holding a large kitchen knife to his throat. 'There was almost a surreal nature to the scene, he clearly represented no threat to anyone else but a significant threat to himself,' John recalls. He approached him slowly and sat in an armchair nearby, knowing he could move much faster should he need to flee, and "asked the old boy tell his story'. It was difficult talking to him because I didn't speak his language, but as a negotiator you try to find common humanity and understand the story of the person you're dealing with John Sutherland 'It transgressed, later on in life, he'd fallen in love with a fellow resident of the home but his feelings were not reciprocated," John says. 'In fact she had been fairly unkind to him and he was an old boy with a broken heart. I listened to him and he agreed to put the knife down.' The need to be heard and 'feeling that they matter' were common themes, with John recounting many stories of people on the edge after mental health struggles. They include a man threatening to jump into an icy cold pond on Hampstead Heath at 3am and a drug addict holding a hypodermic syringe in his neck 'as a weapon'. Life in the balance 10 John has turned to writing crime novels Credit: collect By the time John arrived at one difficult incident there was already a line of territorial support group (TSG) officers on the scene, clad with long shields. He recalls: 'The man in his 20s was in the kitchen-diner of a flat on one side, with a knife to his throat, and I was safely behind the shields trying to engage with him. 'This poor young guy was seriously mentally ill. It was one of few times in my career where I've spoken to someone directly and knew mine wasn't the only voice they were hearing.' John remembers him 'pacing continually backwards and forward, like a tiger I'd seen in London Zoo', twisting the knife more and more. If there's a life hanging in the balance, you can't wait for anyone else. You have to get on and deal with what is in front of you John Sutherland 'One minute he was with us, partly lucid, the next he was somewhere else,' he recalls. The man eventually surrendered after speaking to his mum on the phone. In another incident a man with a kitchen knife was furiously 'sawing backwards and forwards on his head and neck' while holding his ex-girlfriend and child hostage. John recalls the "curtain of blood running down his face and soaking his clothes", adding it reminded him of a scene from the Stephen King film Carrie. Race against time Whenever he received a dispatch call, John says there was an element of adrenaline, which was followed by exhaustion "so deep you're almost unable to speak or walk" afterwards. But he remained motivated by the 'profound sense that today we did something good'. He retired in February 2018, and John has now turned his hand to writing books including memoirs Blue and Crossing The Line, and fiction titles The Siege, The Fallen and his latest novel, The Castle. 'Psychologically and emotionally I draw on my lived experience," he says. "Alex, one of the lead characters [in The Castle], is a version of me, but is a million times more interesting. 'But my deeper purpose to all of it, which I feel very passionately about having worked as a hostage and crisis negotiator, is for people to re-learn the art of listening. 'In the world at the moment it seems that most of us are shouting at each other and not listening. Listening is in danger of becoming a lost art. 'While I hope my thrillers are thrilling, subtly they have something to say about the ways that we listen and how it can do some good in the world. It can save people's lives.' John Sutherland's latest novel The Castle, a Sunday Times bestseller, published by Orion, is available for £9.99 in paperback, as well as in eBook and audio formats.
The Sun
a day ago
- Health
- The Sun
I watched maniac hack his own neck with kitchen knife & took on infamous ‘suicide bomber'…my life as hostage negotiator
AS filing cabinets, chairs and shattered glass rained from the sky, John Sutherland felt like he was in a scene from the apocalypse. Hours earlier a man wearing a suicide vest and wielding a homemade flamethrower had stormed offices on London's Tottenham Court Road and taken terrified hostages, including a pregnant woman. 10 10 10 More than 1,000 workers, shoppers and tourists were evacuated as it was feared the 'terrorist' had enough explosives to 'bring the whole building down with everyone in it'. Dubbed 'the Siege of London', it was an exceptionally-high alert situation due to it being three months before the 2012 Summer Olympics. 'It was one of the most extraordinary days of my whole career,' former Met Police Chief Superintendent John, now 55, tells us. 'I was on the scene working out what on earth to do when I heard the sound of glass shattering. I looked up and a window was being broken. 'A series of office equipment - computers, furniture, cabinets, everything - rained down onto the street below. It was genuinely apocalyptic.' Fortunately, despite threatening to "blow everyone up", the suspect's bomb jacket was fake and the attacker wasn't a terrorist but a disgruntled HGV driver. Ex-BNP candidate Michael Green, then 48, carried out the siege to retrieve £1,000 he paid for a driving course after failing his exams twice and feeling he had 'nothing left to live for'. Green forced his hostages to lob office supplies through a window to 'liquidise some assets'. 'He raided their offices as way to settle his grievances after some form of meltdown,' John says. 'It could have ended terribly but we managed to get him and everyone out unscathed.' It's one of many colourful tales from the retired Met officer, who has mined his experiences over 26 years as a hostage and crisis negotiator to pen his Sunday Times bestselling crime thriller, The Castle. I'm a cop turned vigilante who hunted down a one-man crime wave after police turned a blind eye In an exclusive interview, John explains that unlike in Hollywood movies, 90 per cent of his work was 'holding out a hand' to those in crisis on 'the worst day of their lives'. He tackled dozens of threats in London and recalled the simple question he was routinely asked before being dispatched on a job: 'Are you ready to save a life?' 'Whether it was 3am or in the middle of the afternoon, when you heard those words it focused the mind, because it was the only thing that mattered,' John says. 'I've always said the greatest duty and privilege for any police officer is to save the life of another human being, and that is the exact job of a negotiator.' Stand-off tragedy Despite that, it was a deeply challenging and emotionally turbulent role which is voluntary within the police force. When on shift, negotiators are on-call 24 hours a day for that week. Most stand-offs go on for a few hours, but John said it was not unusual for them to last two to three days. One of the longest he was involved with was the tragic Markham Square siege in London's Chelsea on May 6, 2008. John was the negotiator for the five-hour stand-off which ended with wealthy divorce barrister Mark Saunders being shot dead by police. The 32-year-old, who had represented presenter Chris Tarrant, had fired shotgun rounds from his £2.2million home during a mental health episode linked to alcohol and drugs. 10 10 Out of respect for Mark's widow, John only says a few words about the tragedy, admitting: 'It was one of the days that will stay with me for the rest of my life.' Previously in his memoir, Blue, John mournfully explained how "a man died on my watch", and he was "the last living soul to hold a conversation with him". Another harrowing encounter saw John talk down an Eastern European man who was threatening to throw himself from the 17th floor of a block of flats in Islington overlooking Arsenal's Emirates stadium. 'He was standing on the wrong side of the window on a ledge that was six inches wide, if that,' John recalls. 'Inexplicably, the windows opened into space with no balconies. 'I don't know how long I was with him, all I know was that it was a hell of a long way down and any of the next moments could have been his last. 'It was difficult talking to him because I didn't speak his language, but as a negotiator you try to find common humanity and understand the story of the person you're dealing with. 'For him it was a perfect storm of being unable to get a job because he had no address, but not being able to have an address because he didn't have a job.' John admits he had no idea whether he would be able to coax the man back inside after he'd reached such a heartbreaking 'point of desperation', but thankfully he succeeded. Heartbroken OAP John tells us the key to a successful hostage negotiation is the art of listening, as was proven in an extraordinary case at an old people's home. Upon arriving, John was taken into a communal area where a man in his 80s sat in an armchair holding a large kitchen knife to his throat. 'There was almost a surreal nature to the scene, he clearly represented no threat to anyone else but a significant threat to himself,' John recalls. He approached him slowly and sat in an armchair nearby, knowing he could move much faster should he need to flee, and "asked the old boy tell his story'. It was difficult talking to him because I didn't speak his language, but as a negotiator you try to find common humanity and understand the story of the person you're dealing with John Sutherland 'It transgressed, later on in life, he'd fallen in love with a fellow resident of the home but his feelings were not reciprocated," John says. 'In fact she had been fairly unkind to him and he was an old boy with a broken heart. I listened to him and he agreed to put the knife down.' The need to be heard and 'feeling that they matter' were common themes, with John recounting many stories of people on the edge after mental health struggles. They include a man threatening to jump into an icy cold pond on Hampstead Heath at 3am and a drug addict holding a hypodermic syringe in his neck 'as a weapon'. Life in the balance 10 By the time John arrived at one difficult incident there was already a line of territorial support group (TSG) officers on the scene, clad with long shields. He recalls: 'The man in his 20s was in the kitchen-diner of a flat on one side, with a knife to his throat, and I was safely behind the shields trying to engage with him. 'This poor young guy was seriously mentally ill. It was one of few times in my career where I've spoken to someone directly and knew mine wasn't the only voice they were hearing.' John remembers him 'pacing continually backwards and forward, like a tiger I'd seen in London Zoo', twisting the knife more and more. If there's a life hanging in the balance, you can't wait for anyone else. You have to get on and deal with what is in front of you John Sutherland 'One minute he was with us, partly lucid, the next he was somewhere else,' he recalls. The man eventually surrendered after speaking to his mum on the phone. In another incident a man with a kitchen knife was furiously 'sawing backwards and forwards on his head and neck' while holding his ex-girlfriend and child hostage. John recalls the "curtain of blood running down his face and soaking his clothes", adding it reminded him of a scene from the Stephen King film Carrie. Race against time Whenever he received a dispatch call, John says there was an element of adrenaline, which was followed by exhaustion "so deep you're almost unable to speak or walk" afterwards. But he remained motivated by the 'profound sense that today we did something good'. He retired in February 2018, and John has now turned his hand to writing books including memoirs Blue and Crossing The Line, and fiction titles The Siege, The Fallen and his latest novel, The Castle. 'Psychologically and emotionally I draw on my lived experience," he says. "Alex, one of the lead characters [in The Castle], is a version of me, but is a million times more interesting. 'But my deeper purpose to all of it, which I feel very passionately about having worked as a hostage and crisis negotiator, is for people to re-learn the art of listening. 'In the world at the moment it seems that most of us are shouting at each other and not listening. Listening is in danger of becoming a lost art. 'While I hope my thrillers are thrilling, subtly they have something to say about the ways that we listen and how it can do some good in the world. It can save people's lives.'
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Lewis Johnson: Coroner warns Met over teen killed in police chase
A teenage moped rider's death while being pursued by a Met Police officer showed the force had failed to train its staff "effectively", a coroner has Johnson, 18, died after hitting a traffic light pole while carrying a pillion passenger in Clapton Common, east London, in February 2016 as the pair tried to evade arrest for suspected phone officer chased the moped for more than three minutes before the crash and followed him "too closely at times", which put him under extra pressure and affected his decision making, an inquest jury coroner Mary Hassell said it showed the Met had failed "to implement, disseminate and train relevant staff... effectively". The inquest heard the driver of the police vehicle did not have the qualification required under the force's rules at the time to pursue the chase still took place because of "a lack of knowledge" among the driver, vehicle operator and Met control room staff, and "a lack of adequate communication" of the jury also found that opportunities to reduce the risk to Mr Johnson and the public by the driver in the pursuit were missed. Ms Hassell, senior coroner for Inner North London, echoed the jury's conclusion that the Met had failed "to implement, disseminate and train relevant staff on relevant policies effectively" and she warned action should be taken to prevent future said: "It seemed to me from the evidence in court that there was not a consistent expectation among police officers of how long it generally takes a police controller to make a decision on authorisation of a pursuit."Whilst I do not suggest there should be a time limit on this, it would seem helpful if the expectation of the timing of police control decision-making were to be roughly aligned between those making the decisions (in the police control room) and those waiting for the decisions (in police cars involved in the pursuits)."Mr Johnson's medical cause of death was given as blunt abdominal trauma with an aortic of the coroner's prevention of future deaths report were sent to the Met Police commissioner, Mr Johnson's mother, the director general of the police watchdog - the Independent Office for Police Conduct - and the chief coroner of England and Paul Summerson was found not guilty of causing Mr Johnson's death by dangerous driving in October 2021 following a trial at Kingston Crown was also cleared of causing serious injury by dangerous driving his passenger, Louis Met has been approached for comment.
The National
a day ago
- Business
- The National
Disposable vape ban Scotland explained – what it means for you
The crackdown on the devices, also known as single-use vapes, will come into force on Sunday. The ban applies across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. READ MORE: Met Police silent after unlawful seizure of pro-Palestine journalist's property It means that shops will be banned from selling disposable vapes both online and in-store. However, shops can still sell reusable vapes. Here's everything you need to know. What is a disposable vape? Disposable vapes are single-use and come filled and charged. They are activated by inhaling, do not have a replaceable coil, and cannot be recharged or refilled. They are designed to be small and can fit inside a pocket, with the battery only lasting a short while. Reusable vapes, on the other hand, can be recharged and use pre-filled pods which slot into the device, which are then disposed of once empty in the same way as a disposable vape. Why have disposable vapes been banned? The ban, introduced by the previous Tory government, is intended to protect children's health and prevent environmental damage. The action comes amid worry around the harm the discarded products have on the environment, the risk of fires they pose, and concern that they encourage young people to vape. READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Edinburgh Pride 2025 as it celebrates 30 years Disposable vapes are typically thrown away with general waste in black bins or littered rather than taken to a recycling point. When recycled properly – such as by returning them to a vape shop – disposable vapes are taken to recycling centres where they need to be taken apart by hand. Their lithium-ion batteries can also pose a fire risk to recycling facilities and can leak harmful chemicals into the environment. What happens if a shop still sells disposable vapes? In Scotland, any shops who continue to sell disposable vapes risk a £200 fine in the first instance. If that fine is paid within 14 days, it is discounted to £150. The fine rises by £200 each time a shop is caught. If the fine is not accepted, or in instances where an enforcement officer does not consider a fine appropriate, the offender can be fined £5000, sentenced to two years in prison, or both. Individuals are not at risk of prosecution if they are found to be in possession of disposable vapes, unless they are intending to sell or supply them.
