Man fighting for life after double stabbing in north London

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A teenager was fighting for life in hospital and another man was injured after a double stabbing in north London.

Police were trawling the Turnpike Lane area for clues on the location of the stabbings on Friday morning after the 19-year-old arrived at a hospital in north London with knife wounds. 

Scotland Yard said officers believed both men were stabbed during "a violent incident" near Waldegrave Road in the early hours of the morning.

Staff at the hospital alerted police after the teenager was admitted at about 1am.

He was transferred to a hospital in east London where his condition was described as life-threatening.

Emergency services were seperately called to Waldegrave Road to reports of a man stabbed at 12.50am. A 23-year-old man was taken to hospital with stab wounds not believed to be serious.

A Met Police spokesman said: "Detectives from Haringey CID are investigating. 

"They believe the 19-year-old man was stabbed in the area of Turnpike Lane or Waldegrave Road. 

"The 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder."

A crime scene was set up and parts of Turnpike Lane and Westbury Avenue were sealed off for hours as officers investigated.

Mark Humphris posted on Twitter: “Lots of roads closed around Wood Green, Turnpike Lane and A10 area. Police on scene.” 

Enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances.

Top barrister killed as fire rips through Thames-side apartment in Bermondsey

Pic:prosecutor Ian Paton died after a blaze in his Bermondsey flat
Staff reporter(wp/es):

A top barrister and part-time judge who died after a blaze ripped through his Thames-side apartment was a “true gentleman”, friends said today.

Ian Paton, 66, a criminal prosecutor who also sat as a crown court recorder, was in his third-floor flat in Luna House, Bermondsey Wall West, when fire broke out.

Mr Paton, who worked for QEB Hollis Whiteman Chambers, was pulled from the flames by firefighters but pronounced dead shortly after.

Other residents of the block fled as smoke poured from the apartment.

Sources said the blaze, which happened at about 5.30pm on Tuesday, had been investigated to ensure it was not connected to his work and to rule out a revenge attack.

Mr Paton’s prosecutions had led to several criminals being jailed. “This is no longer suspicious. This will probably go down more as misadventure. The cause is still being investigated,  but there were candles in the flat,” a source said.

A post-mortem examination has taken place and more tests are due to be carried out, but it is suspected Mr Paton, who lived alone, died from smoke inhalation.

Friend and former colleague Sally Mertens, 46, a barrister at Atkinson Bevan Chambers, said: “He was really well respected, a true gentleman and very fair towards people as a prosecutor. He was a lovely guy and a very good barrister. He also sat as a judge part-time, as a recorder. He worked on a lot of stuff, from murders to frauds.

“He was a pleasure to work with. It’s incredibly sad. He was incredibly well respected among his colleagues. Being at QEB Chambers, you’re talking about one of the top five to be with, so he was at the top of his game.”

Barrister John Traversi, of 9 Bedford Row Chambers, added: “We started at the Bar at about the same time. He was a very bright, capable and unyielding prosecutor. He was hugely respected.

“Anybody who came across him in court representing the other side knew they would be up against it. He was a formidable opponent and it’s a huge loss to the profession.”

A family friend, who wished not to be named, said: “Everyone is devastated. He was a great man who had a young daughter and this is terrible just before Christmas.” His daughter was too upset to speak.

It took 21 firefighters nearly two hours to control the blaze. One evacuated resident said: “It must have been going on for a good few hours. There was a lot of billowing, thick black smoke coming from the window. I don’t think anybody could have survived that.”

London Fire Brigade said: “A man was rescued from the flat by firefighters but was sadly confirmed dead at scene.”

Six men arrested in riots after 'Wild n Out' music event shut down

Pic:Frightened witnesses saw armed police outside McDonald's on Ealing Broadway 
Crime reporter(wp/es):

Six men have been arrested after a riot broke out in west London after police shut down a Somali music event.

Gangs of youths wreaked havoc as police officers were allegedly targeted with missiles while trying to disperse the crowd in Ealingon Thursday night.

Two police dogs were also injured in the melee after the £15 Somali “Wild n out” music show at Ealing Town Hall was shut down shortly after 11pm over fears of overcrowding.

A Metrolpolitan Police spokesman confirmed six men - aged between 19 and 23 – has been arrested on suspicion of public order offences. They are being held at west London police stations.

Deputy Borough Commander of Ealing, Detective Superintendent Robert Mahoney, said: "A large number of people tried to gain entry to a pre-planned event being held at Ealing Town Hall last night.

"They were stopped from entering because of safety concerns. This resulted in some of the group engaging in disorder. 

"A swift and proportionate police response soon brought the situation under control and six men are currently in custody. I want to reassure the residents of Ealing that this was an isolated incident which has been effectively dealt with."

One organiser suggested some 2,000 people had turned up to the venue which can only hold 600.

After organisers decided to close the event to ensure safety, a mob of youths is said to have descended on nearby Longfield Avenue where rioting broke out.

Frightened witnesses reported seeing scores of armed police patrolling outside McDonald’s at the junction with Spring Bridge Road.

One of the event’s promoters told the Standard: “The reason it got closed was because too many people attended the event which was only promoted for a week.”

A man was found suffering from injuries in nearby Mattock Lane and rushed to hospital by ambulance.

He remains in a west London hospital in a stable condition and enquiries are underway to establish how he sustained his injuries.

Elderly man dies after being hit by car in Sydenham crash

Staff reporter(wp/es):

An elderly man was killed after he was hit by a car in south London on Thursday night.

The pensioner, thought to be aged around 80, was seriously injured and rushed to hospital following the crash in Lewisham.

He later died in hospital.

Police and ambulances raced to Sydenham Road in Sydenham at around 8.30pm following reports of a crash between a car and a pedestrian.

The road was closed between Newlands Park and Kent House Road while police dealt with the incident, which happened near to the Hexagon Housing building.

Witness Fiona Fraser said she saw "so many police" on the busy stretch of road. Another passerby described traffic as "gridlock".

The driver of the car stopped at the scene, a spokesman for the Met said.

A post-mortem examination is to be carried out and officers are continuing to investigate what happened.

The Met Police are appealing for information following the fatal crash.

Woman and child killed after becoming trapped in burning Essex home

Pic:emergency services at the scene of a house fire in Braintree, Essex, which claimed the lives of a woman and a child
Staff reporter(wp/es):

A woman and child have been killed after becoming trapped in a burning house in Essex.

The detached home in Braintree was completely ablaze when fire crews were called to the scene on Wednesday night.

Two women were able to escape before fire crews arrived but a third woman and a child, the age of whom is not yet known, were stuck inside the burning building.

Firefighters were not able to rescue them and they died in the blaze on South Street.

The surviving women were treated for smoke inhalation but are expected to make full recoveries.

Police were also called to the scene and are launching a joint investigation with the fire service into the cause of the blaze.

Images released by Essex Fire and Rescue Service (EFRS) have revealed the devastating impact of the fire, with the red brick property left blackened by the heat of the flames.

Fire crews were called at 10.45pm, along with ambulances and police officers including the Essex force’s helicopter. 

The fire was extinguished by 1.24am but firefighters remained at the property dampening down "hotspots". 

An EFRS spokesman said: "Unfortunately it has now been confirmed that two people died in the house fire. An investigation into the cause will take place this morning.”

The busy road where the fire broke out has been closed as the investigation begins.

The town’s Conservative MP James Cleverly has spoken of his shock at the tragic double death. 

He said: “It is such sad and shocking news when members of a young family lose their life in any circumstances and at any time but obviously under these circumstances, just before Christmas, it’s absolutely tragic. 

“I was contacted this morning by my local police chief to be informed of the circumstances and obviously I am not going to get into any of those details now.

“I will be speaking later on in more detail with both the police and the local fire chief." 

An Essex Police spokeswoman said: "Police are working with the fire service to investigate the cause of the fire in which a woman and child have died.

"Emergency services were called shortly before 10.45pm yesterday to reports of a fire at a house in South Street, Braintree.

"Officers, a police helicopter, the fire service and ambulance service attended.

"Two women had managed to get out of the property before emergency services arrived. They were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.

“Sadly a woman and a child were trapped inside and died at the scene. 

"Police and the fire service will carry out a joint investigation. The road is currently closed.”

East London man charged with distributing terror propaganda

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A 23 -year-old man from east London has been charged with three terror offences.

Sabbir Miah was arrested by counter terror police officers on December 6.

And on Thursday morning he was charged with three counts of dissemination of terrorist publications, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2006.

Miah, from Forest Gate, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on January 5 next year.

Mother hid body of baby boy for more than a decade at north London home

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A mother covered up the death of her baby son for more than a decade by hiding his body at a north London home.

Victoria Gayle, 32, pleaded guilty to preventing his lawful burial at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, the Met Police said.

Scotland Yard said little was known about the baby but that he was last seen in late 2004.

In May 2016 police launched an investigation into the boy's disappearance following a request from the child abuse investigation team in Barnet. It came after a review into the death of another child in Barnet in 2015.

Officers then searched a property in Fryent Crescent in West Hendon where they discovered the remains of a small child.

The body had been placed in a box and wrapped up, the BBC reported.

Gayle, who was on bail, admitted preventing a lawful burial but denied perjury and perverting the course of justice. The allegations will lie on file.

A Met Police spokesman said: "A special post-mortem examination took place at Great Ormond Street Hospital and the cause of death could not be determined.

"Further tests were unable to establish exactly how the child died and inquiries continue to this day.

"The skeletal remains have not been confirmed as that of the child who disappeared in 2004 and although Gayle has pleaded to the offence of preventing a lawful and decent burial, detectives continue to investigate the disappearance of the baby boy, the identity of the remains and are working closely with a number of partner agencies."

Gayle will be sentenced at Kingston on February 3.

A 50-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man, who were both arrested on suspicion of preventing a lawful and decent burial, have been re-bailed pending further inquiries.

A 38-year old man, who was arrested on suspicion of preventing a lawful burial and perverting the course of justice, has also been re-bailed.