It followed a tip-off to authorities that a frightening cache of pyrotechnics were being flogged off by an unlicensed vendor to members of the public. Fireworks should only be purchased from sellers, such as supermarkets, and not from market stalls or sellers conducting transactions door-to-door. Newham Trading Standards obtained a warrant to search a self-contained flat in Forest Gate last week and found the goods Those caught illicitly selling or lighting fireworks risk being fined up to 5,000 or sentenced to six months in prison.
The number of prisoners released in error more than doubled in the year to March 2025, Government data shows. A report by His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) said 262 prisoners were released in error from April 2024 to March 2025, up from 115 in the year to March 2024. HMPPS said in the report that releases in error remain infrequent and believes the rise is linked to changes in the law, and the early release scheme which Labour introduced in September 2024.
The internal review, commissioned by the Met from the consultancy HR Rewired, concluded that bias, racial stereotyping and inequity were woven through the force's recruitment, promotion and grievance processes, affecting Black staff specifically. The review's report, 30 Patterns of Harm: a Structural Review of Systemic Racism within the London Metropolitan Police Service, warned that the Met's ambition to become an anti-racist organisation was being undermined by its own internal culture.
PA Media A misconduct hearing for a Metropolitan Police firearms officer who fatally shot a man during a foiled prison break in 2015 has been discontinued. The officer, known only as W80, killed Jermaine Baker as police stopped a plot to snatch two prisoners from a van near Wood Green Crown Court in north London. The misconduct proceedings involving W80 came after years of legal battles over the case. The officer was accused of breaching professional standards regarding the use of force.
A teenage boy is in a critical condition after he was shot in north London. The Metropolitan Police was called to High Road, in Arnos Grove, at 17:40 BST on Thursday to reports of a shooting. A 17-year-old was treated at the scene for serious injuries and taken to hospital.
Google A man is in a life-threatening condition after being shot by Metropolitan Police officers who entered a property in north-east London by force. The force said officers were called to an address in Stow Crescent, Walthamstow, at about 10:00 BST to reports of a man with a firearm making threats to kill. Trained negotiators were called to the scene, and at about 14:00 officers entered the property and discharged their weapons.
We are keen to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident and are concerned for the welfare of the young woman involved, who we believe is aged between 28 and 32 and been unable to identify. Were you in or near Millharbour Road, E17 around the time of the incident and saw anything suspicious, or do you have any CCTV or mobile phone footage that will assist us with our enquiries? If so, please come forward by calling 101 and referencing 01/8032774/25.
A public parole hearing for David Norris, who is bidding to be released from his life sentence for Stephen's murder, heard that he admitted his involvement on several occasions since being jailed, the first in 2018. Baroness Doreen Lawrence said on Wednesday it was "deeply shocking" that police had "known for years that he now accepts being part of the attack" in south-east London in 1993.
In a very aggressive - and disgusting - attempt to extort a ransom payment from Kido, the criminals published profiles of 10 children, including photos, names, and home addresses, along with their parents' contact details and in some cases places of work, threatening to expose more if the ransom demand wasn't met. A new crime crew calling itself the Radiant Group claimed responsibility for the attack, and posted the preschool's name, along with its pupils' profiles, as the first leak on its dark web site. The ransomware gang later deleted the kids' and parents' data, apparently under pressure from other criminals - but not before some of the parents reported receiving threatening calls.
Arrests have begun in Trafalgar Square at what may be the biggest demonstration so far against a ban on the proscribed organisation Palestine Action. Police began arresting demonstrators at the silent vigil in support of the group, which has been classed by the UK government as a terror organisation since July this year. The organisers, Save Our Juries, previously said they expected the turnout to be higher than previous protests, with more than 1,500 people planning to attend, potentially beating an arrest record set at the 1961 anti-nuclear demonstration, which was held at the same London location.
The BBC Panorama programme follows undercover filming capturing allegations including misogyny, anti-Muslim comments and other alleged wrongdoing at Charing Cross police station. At the highest levels of the Met, as well at City Hall and in national government, there is a fear if not expectation, that the revelations will damage confidence in the force and cast doubt on claims it is reforming radically enough after years of scandal and damning reports.
An undercover documentary is set to cause further issues for the Metropolitan Police, with officers and staff reportedly showing support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson and using excessive force against suspects. Eleven people based at Charing Cross police station are being investigated for potential gross misconduct, including a constable who is also under criminal investigation. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched a probe into allegations including excessive use of force, making discriminatory and misogynistic comments, and failing to report or challenge inappropriate behaviour.
The allegations, which centre on Charing Cross police station in central London, are contained in a BBC Panorama documentary airing on Wednesday evening. The allegations have plunged the Met into crisis mode, with commissioner Sir Mark Rowley trying to contain the damage as well as showing he can cut out toxic cultures within Britain's largest force. Programme makers are yet to make public full details of what undercover filming reveal but the broad allegations were sent by them to police chiefs a fortnight ago.
The prosecutor refused to meet me, but I told his representative I wanted his help to get my life back, Brueckner said. German national Christian Brueckner made the trip to speak to prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters (Sky News) I'm being hounded by the media, and it's his fault. I want him to take responsibility. I was told there was nothing they could do to help. I had been convicted and released, and I wasn't their responsibility.
PA Media A man has been charged with the historical rape of a 14-year-old girl. Barry George, 65, has also been charged with two counts of indecent assault, according to the Metropolitan Police. The force said it was alleged the teenager, now in her 50s, was assaulted twice in west London between 6 September and 12 September 1987. Det Supt Andy Furphy said: "Officers continue to support the woman." Mr George, of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 29 October.
Alexander Loxton, who played the character of the older Billy in the hit West End musical as well as dancing with the Royal Ballet and performing at Buckingham Palace for the late Queen's 80th birthday, says he suffered a career-wrecking ankle ligament injury during an unjustified stop-and-search by Met Police in September 2016. The 36-year-old has now ditched his dreams of reaching the top as a dancer and told a judge he is currently working in security
