Murder hunt after woman stabbed to death in south London

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A murder hunt was under way today after a woman was stabbed to death in the street in south London.

The woman, who is in her 30s, died at the scene after being attacked in Aubyn Hill, West Norwood shortly after 7pm last night. 

Scotland Yard said there had been no arrests.

Police are seeking an attacker who is understood to be known to the victim.

Sadiq Khan asks Muslims to pray for Manchester bombing victims in holy month of Ramadan

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has asked London’s Muslim community to pray during Ramadan for those affected by the “appalling and cowardly” attack on Manchester Arena.

In a video statement to mark the beginning of Islam’s holy month, Mr Khan wished Muslims in London and elsewhere a “peaceful and blessed” Ramadan, adding that: “This year in particular our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the appalling and cowardly attack in Manchester just a few days ago, and of course to those affected by the Westminster attack in March.”

He said: “As Ramadan gets underway, I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my very warmest wishes to Muslims both in London and across the world, as we observe this holy month.

“And I hope that all of those who are fasting during these long summer days will find strength and solace in their daily routine.”

Mr Khan added that charitable donations made during Ramadan as the Muslim community comes together make “a huge difference to the lives of those in need”. 

Striking a tone of openness, ended his address with a plea for good interfaith relations.

“Here in London we show that we don’t simply tolerate different faiths, we respect and celebrate them too,” he said, adding: “Our diversity is what makes London the greatest city in the world.”

Plans to link east and West End with city's first 'healthy street'

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Plans have been unveiled to link the East End and West End with London’s first “healthy street”.

London Cycling Campaign is calling for a radical transformation of the so-called “London Boulevard” route from Old Street to Oxford Street via Clerkenwell Road and Theobalds Road.

It wants to turn central London’s “third busiest” cycle route into a safer and less polluted two-mile stretch, with a “cafe society” alfresco atmosphere. 

Some 7,000 cyclists use the east-west route each day despite high levels of traffic and high collision rates. 

The LCC believes its vision fits Mayor Sadiq Khan’s “healthy streets” policy, which seeks to improve air quality, reduce congestion and make public spaces more attractive.

It would also link with proposals for Old Street roundabout, which would convert one of London’s busiest gyratories into a two-way layout, enabling the centre of the roundabout to be transformed and boosting the area’s status as “Tech City”. Simon Munk, LCC’s infrastructure campaigner, said the aim was to provide support for schemes from Transport for London and Camden and Islington councils.

He said: “Tottenham Court Road station is being transformed by Crossrail and there is the Mayor’s pedestrianisation of Oxford Street to come. This [route] is one of the busiest roads in London but it’s incredibly polluted and insanely noisy. The knock-on effect of pedestrianising Oxford Street is going to be huge. There is a huge opportunity to look again at the streets east of Oxford Street.”

The Mayor has yet to decide if cyclists will be allowed to use the pedestrianised Oxford Street. If cyclists are banned, LCC wants a parallel route. At Old Street, TfL proposals first consulted on two years ago — to create a “peninsula” in the centre of the junction by closing the roundabout’s north-east side — are understood to be moving forward.

Ben Plowden, TfL’s director of surface strategy and planning, said he welcomed ideas that improved conditions for cyclists and pedestrians. 

A mayoral spokesman said extended cycle routes were an important part of their “healthy streets” vision.

Student sentenced to 15 years for planting bomb on London tube

Pic: Damon Smith was found guilty of possession of an explosive substance with intent at the Old Bailey in London
Crime reporter(wp):

An autistic student has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for planting a homemade bomb, built according to instructions in an online magazine linked to al-Qaida, on a London Underground train during morning rush hour.

Damon Smith, 20, constructed the rucksack bomb, which was filled with ball-bearing shrapnel, using a £2 clock from Tesco as an improvised timer, after reading an article titled How To Build a Bomb in the Kitchen of your Mum. It did not go off.

On Friday morning, he smiled in the dock at the Old Bailey in London as the judge, Richard Marks QC, sentenced him to 15 years in a young offender institution, with an extended period of five years on licence. Marks said although Smith had an interest in Islam, he was not motivated by terrorism.

Smith had pleaded guilty to perpetrating a bomb hoax, claiming he intended the device to work as a smoke bomb to stop the train “for a bit of fun”. But after a five-day trial at the Old Bailey, he was found guilty on 3 May of possession of an explosive substance with intent, contrary to the 1883 Explosive Substances Act.

Sentencing him, Marks said: “Quite what your motives were and what your true thinking was in acting as you did is difficult to discern with any degree of clarity or certainty.

“Whatever the position, the seriousness of what you did cannot be overstated, not least against the background of the fear in which we all live from the use of bombs here and around the world, an all too timely reminder of which were the events in Manchester earlier this week.”

Smith has Asperger syndrome and had a keen interest in weapons, which might have been connected to his condition, the jury was told during his trial. He was also interested in gambling and Islam, and had collected photos of extremists, including the ringleader of the 2015 Paris attacks.

He was 19 and studying forensic computing at London Metropolitan University when he left the rucksack containing the bomb on a Jubilee line train on the morning of 20 October 2016. Passengers discovered the device and alerted the driver, triggering a major security alert.

The jury heard that had the bomb worked, it would have detonated as people were being evacuated from North Greenwich tube station.

Smith was Tasered and arrested near Holloway Road in north London the following day. Counter-terrorism officers who subsequently searched his former home in Newton Abbot, Devon, evacuated nearby houses after discovering another possible homemade bomb hidden in the attic.

A search of Smith’s home in Rotherhithe, south-east London, where he had moved with his mother after starting university, found a blank-firing, self-loading pistol and a BB gun, both bought legally, as well as a knuckleduster and a knife that he had showed off in an online video.

Police also found shredded paper with bombmaking instructions on them and a shopping list for “pressure cooker bomb materials” on an iPad he used. The note included a reminder to “keep this a secret between me and Allah #InspireTheBelievers”.

Smith’s barrister, Richard Carey-Hughes QC, said in mitigation that it was a tragic case for Smith and his mother. “This is a difficult climate to ask for mercy for someone convicted of this type of offence,” he said, referring to the suicide bombing at a concert in Manchester on Monday that killed 22 people.

“Nevertheless, we do so and we invite my lord to extend mercy. This case is different. It seems unique and so is this young man.”

In his defence, extracts of a psychiatric report were read out confirming an autism spectrum disorder. Smith had been interested in bombmaking since he was 10 and said it was “something to do when he was bored”.

On the first day of his trial, the judge asked the jury to disregard Smith’s smile as he listened to the prosecution outline the case against him. Smith was “acutely aware that he’s presenting himself in a manner that is odd and unsympathetic”, Carey-Hughes said. On the last full day of his trial, he declined to go into the witness box.

But Marks concluded that Smith was a dangerous offender, telling him: “I am influenced by your history of preoccupation with weapons and bombs, as well as by your condition, which makes it difficult for you to empathise with others and to understand and fully appreciate the very serious potential consequences of your actions, as this incident amply demonstrates.”