ISIS bride Shamima Begum is plotting an attempt to return to the UK using people smugglers, texts from inside her camp reportedly reveal.

Begum, who was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London to join the terror group in 2015, is currently being held at al-Roj – a filthy, violent camp in north-east Syria. 

The 26-year-old, who was 15 when she travelled from Bethnal Green, east London, into IS territory, has made multiple legal bids to return to the UK but they have all failed.

It has now been claimed that there is a plot brewing to sneak her back into Britain via people smugglers. 

The audacious plan comes after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) questioned the UK’s decision to strip Begum’s citizenship and called for the Government to consider whether she was a victim of trafficking.

Filmmaker Andrew Drury, who has interviewed Begum six times in al-Roj, has revealed he has been contacted from inside the camp by an American former jihadi who wants to escape with Begum.

Mr Drury, 60, has received several messages from Begum’s camp best friend Hoda Muthana – an American woman who also lost her citizenship after joining ISIS.

Hoda – appearing to act as a fixer for Begum – begged Mr Drury for thousands of US dollars using the code word ‘gummies’ and British pounds using the term ‘mints’.

They appear to be plotting to cross the border into nearby Turkey to ‘get to our embassies’ and that they believe the UK will be forced to take Begum back ‘once Turkey deports her’.

In messages seen by The Express, Hoda writes: ‘Bring five thousand gummy bears with u, the American brand, is better. S (Shamima) also likes mints, about the same amount, but better u come and give it so half the bag isn’t taken.’ 

When Mr Drury told Hoda, ‘The UK won’t let her back’, the ISIS bride replied: ‘They eventually will once Turkey deports her which is what they do.’

The two former jihadi brides also admit to planning interviews, with Hoda adding: ‘SB (Shamima Begum) already promised certain networks to be the first to interview her outside the camp, and in the UK when she finally gets repatriated.’ 

However, when pressed on who the networks might be, Hoda claimed Begum has not agreed with anyone yet and ‘she has people in mind who she thinks will do a fair story.’

In other messages, Hoda tells Mr Drury: ‘Imagine it as an investment.’

She adds: ‘We finally get out of here begin our process. We’re not asking to hide or run away. We just want to get to our embassies. And you’ll be the first to know and see her.’ 

Mr Drury did not send any money to the camp and informed his local MP and MI5. But he claims he has not received a response from the security services.

Speaking to The Express, the filmmaker said: ‘I’m not going to give a terrorist, or somebody I consider as a terrorist, money.

‘I understand her wanting to get out of the camp in desperation, but she and Hoda seem to be trying to manipulate people financially to help them, who knows who they are paying money to.

‘What’s worrying as well is they appear to be saying they are negotiating media interviews for when and if they manage to get to Turkey and they claim they will be repatriated if they reach their embassies.

‘But imagine if the people smugglers help Shamima so she ends up crossing the Channel in a small boat and reaching Britain that way. There’s plenty of asylum seekers who have taken that route from Syria and Iraq through Turkey.’

It is claimed that Begum is already receiving money from ‘unknown sources’ and is plotting to escape from the camp amid tension in the area.

The camp s controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who also oversee several other camps housing more than 9,000 ISIS fighters and around 40,000 women and children.    

The SDF has now lost almost all of its territory to forces loyal to Syria’s president Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The Londoner was 15 when she and two friends travelled from Bethnal Green to Syria to join Islamic State. 

Begum, who married an ISIS fighter and had three children who all died, was found in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019 and her citizenship was immediately revoked by then-home secretary Sajid Javid on national security grounds, kickstarting her lengthy legal challenge.

But in late December, the ECHR formally asked the Home Office whether it broke human rights and anti-trafficking laws – after Begum was stripped of her UK citizenship.

The latest intervention sparked a major backlash, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood vowing to defend the Government’s decision at the time.

Begum lost an appeal in February 2023 against the decision to revoke her citizenship after the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled this was lawful.

She then lost a Court of Appeal bid in February 2024, before she was most recently denied the chance to challenge it at the Supreme Court in August 2024.

However, Begum’s lawyers warned at the time that they could still take her case to the ECHR – which they later did.

The Home Office has now been told by the European court to answer four questions about her citizenship.

One asks: ‘Has there been a violation of the applicant’s rights under Article 4 of the Convention by virtue of the decision to deprive her of her citizenship?’

Another says: ‘For the purposes of the Article 4 complaints made in the application, was the applicant at all material times within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention?’

Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights relates to the ‘obligation to respect human rights’, while Article 4 relates to ‘freedom from slavery and forced labour’.

A further question asks: ‘Did the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s decision to deprive the applicant of her citizenship engage her rights under Article 4 of the Convention?’

A FCDO spokesperson said: ‘Protecting our national security is the first priority for the UK Government.

‘That is why we are continuing to work with the Syrian and Iraqi Governments, as well as other partners, to protect our shared security interests in the region, and ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh.

• An earlier version of this article stated that judges of the European Court of Human Rights had come to Shamima Begum’s defence and that Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights relates to the ‘protection of property’. In fact, the court’s request for further information from UK authorities is in line with its usual procedure following receipt of an application alleging violations of the Convention and does not constitute support for Ms Begum. Article 1 relates to the ‘obligation to respect human rights’. The article has been amended to reflect this.

This is the first picture of a man who was fatally stabbed in the centre of Wimbledon in south west London at the weekend.

Luke Brereton, 40, from Mitcham, was on a night out on the busy high street when he was attacked shortly after half past midnight.

Police were called to the scene at 12.37am on Sunday, February 22 after they received reports of a stabbing on The Broadway, Wimbledon.

Emergency services arrived at the scene shortly afterwards and found Luke at the scene.

Despite best efforts from the paramedics he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

His devastated family lay flowers at the spot where he collapsed yesterday afternoon. They declined to speak.

The Met said his family are aware and continuing to receive support from specialist officers.

Yesterday afternoon Amar Zafar, of Cambridge Grove Road, Kingston, was charged with murder and possession of a bladed article. 

Forensics officers have been trawling for clues at the scene while police have obtained CCTV footage of the incident with detectives examining the images. 

Yesterday, local businesses and residents laid floral tributes at the scene, which is near a number of bars and restaurants.

Several were open at the time of the incident and have been cooperating with police during their investigation, it is understood.

Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley said: “Our thoughts are with the victim’s family. We understand the impact this will have on the local community

‘We still need anyone who witnessed the incident or has information to come forward. No detail is too small.’

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting CAD 244/22FEB. To remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after being quizzed late into the night over allegations he leaked sensitive information to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein during his time as business secretary.

The disgraced former minister was led away by detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Special Investigations Team – the unit dubbed the Yard’s ‘Celeb Squad’ – on suspicion of misconduct in public office yesterday afternoon. 

Nine hours later at around 1.15am the 72-year-old architect of New Labour was pictured as he was driven out of Wandsworth Police Station. 

He left the station in a black car accompanied by three other people but shortly after arrived home in a London black cab. He remained silent and downcast as he walked into his house. 

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said in the early hours of Tuesday: ‘A 72-year-old man arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office has been released on bail pending further investigation.

‘He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and was taken to a London police station for interview.

‘This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.

‘We are not able to provide further information at this stage to prevent prejudicing the integrity of the investigation.’

He had been picked up at around 4.30pm yesterday at his £7.6million Regent’s Park home, 17 days after officers searched his properties in London and Wiltshire. 

Last night there were questions over why police waited more than a fortnight after those raids to make the arrest.

An ashen-faced Mandelson was seen walking behind Met Detective Inspector Barry Williams yesterday afternoon, who had a body-worn camera clipped to his jacket lapel. 

He and the peer climbed into the rear of an unmarked Ford Focus while a female officer took the front seat. 

Upon arrival, he would have been processed in custody – with a DNA saliva swab, fingerprints and a custody photograph taken – before being placed in a holding room pending the arrival of his solicitor.

His arrest comes days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was held on suspicion of the same offence. 

When Mountbatten-Windsor was questioned by Thames Valley Police, he was interviewed for 11 hours. 

Lord Mandelson was expected to have received a similar treatment, including being allowed regular breaks and the right to offer a ‘no comment interview’. 

Detectives are expected to have questioned him about emails published in the latest tranche of Epstein files, as well as documents seized during searches of his two homes earlier this month.

The Special Investigations Team, part of Scotland Yard’s central specialist crime division, handles highly sensitive inquiries involving high-profile figures and politically exposed persons. 

Its remit includes allegations of offences committed by those in public office, matters connected to the Parliamentary Estate, as well as electoral fraud and malpractice.

To make an arrest, officers must have reasonable grounds to suspect an offence has been committed and satisfy the so-called ‘necessity test’, demonstrating that detention is essential for specific investigative reasons. 

Police have not commented on the precise trigger for yesterday’s move and there is no suggestion it relates to any wrongdoing during the investigation itself.

The dramatic development will heap pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who approved Lord Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the United States in December 2024 despite longstanding controversy over his relationship with Epstein.

The Government had yesterday pledged to release documents relating to the controversial appointment. MPs were told that the first bundle would be published ‘very shortly in early March’. But Mandelson’s arrest at 4.15pm has now cast doubt over that timeline.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said officials were trawling through a vast quantity of material but intended to release the first tranche imminently. 

He admitted it was ‘clearly a process that will take some time’ given the scale of the request and said documents were being reviewed to ensure publication would not damage ‘national security or international relations’.

He added that Scotland Yard had advised against releasing some exchanges between Downing Street and the New Labour grandee for fear of prejudicing any potential prosecution.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘Mandelson’s arrest is the defining moment of Keir Starmer’s premiership.

‘It wasn’t long ago the PM looked me in the eye at PMQs and said he had ‘full confidence’ in Mandelson.

‘Time to release the Mandelson files in full. We must know who knew what and when. No more delays.’

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood claimed that ‘the Government’s progress moves with the urgency of a tired sloth on a Bank Holiday Monday’.

He added: ‘It is time the Government stopped treating Parliament like an inconvenient interruption to their schedule, stopped giving every impression that they have priorities working out whose back to cover, and started providing some actual answers so that we can start to get to the bottom of this murky matter.’

Labour backbencher Andy McDonald referred to the peer as ‘the lord of the files’, saying: ‘There are many people in this place and across the country who would not have touched Peter Mandelson with a bargepole and they’re trying to get their head round why on earth this Government wasn’t of the same view.’

Downing Street yesterday denied reports that corners were cut in Mandelson’s security vetting ahead of his Washington posting. 

Although his clearance to access top-secret documents was reportedly fast-tracked within weeks rather than months, No 10 insisted full checks were completed.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘No part of the vetting process was skipped or removed. It is normal procedure for vetting sponsors to prioritise cases based on deployment deadlines.’

Police raids on Mandelson’s homes followed the release of three million pages of documents by the US Department of Justice relating to Epstein. 

Emails contained within the files are said to suggest that Mandelson, while business secretary and de-facto deputy prime minister to Gordon Brown, and Mountbatten-Windsor, as UK trade envoy, passed potentially sensitive information from official briefings to Epstein.

Documents released in the US indicate Mandelson may have disclosed details of potential policy measures – including an asset sales plan, a tax on bankers’ bonuses and a bailout package for the euro – the day before public announcement in 2010. Gordon Brown has accused him of ‘betrayal’.

Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing. Following revelations in the Epstein emails, the former minister without portfolio said he had ‘no recollection’ of receiving payments totalling $75,000 from Epstein between 2003 and 2004. 

Epstein is also said to have paid for an osteopathy course for Mandelson’s husband, Reinaldo Avila Da Silva, in 2009. 

The peer has insisted he broke no laws and did not act for personal gain, though he has repeatedly expressed regret over his friendship with Epstein, which continued after the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a minor.

A black Oscar-winning production designer says Tourette campaigner John Davidson called her the n-word at Sunday’s BAFTA awards where he hurled the same slur at actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo. 

Hannah Beachler, who became the first African American to win an Academy Award for Production Design in 2018 for Black Panther, took to X after Davidson’s involuntary outbursts made headlines on Sunday. 

He could be heard shouting the n-word at Jordan and Lindo while the two Sinners actors were on stage in London Sunday night, with microphones picking up the racist term. 

Beachler wrote on X: ‘I keep trying to write about what happened at the BAFTAs, and I can’t find the words. 

‘The situation is almost impossible, but it happened 3 times that night, and one of the three times was directed at myself on the way to dinner after the show.’

Beachler said the other person Davidson shouted at was also a black woman, and although she acknowledged it as an ‘impossible situation’, she criticized the apology from awards host Alan Cumming. 

‘I know we must handle this with grace and continue to push through. But what made the situation worse was the throw away apology of ‘if you were offended’ at the end of the show,’ she said. 

‘Of course we were offended… but our frequency, our spiritual vibration is tuned to a higher level than what happened. I am not steal, this did not bounce off of me, but I exist above it. It can’t take away from who I am as an artist.’

It comes as a clip of Davidson involuntarily shouting the N-word at Jordan and Lindo went viral on social media, with Cumming going on to thank the audience ‘for their understanding’ over the Tourette sufferers condition. 

Davidson was at the awards show as he is the subject one of the nominated movies, I Swear, which details the life of the campaigner who was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at a time when little was known about the condition. 

He appeared to have left the ceremony in the second half of the show as his outbursts could no longer be heard.

According to Variety, John left of his own accord and was not asked to leave by BAFTA. A source told the publication that he was an ‘invited guest’ and under no circumstances would he be asked to leave the ceremony.

While Jordan and Lindo didn’t react to the remark, Alan Cumming later addressed the audience at London’s Royal Festival Hall and apologised for the offensive language.

Addressing the outbursts, Alan told the crowd: ‘You may have heard some strong offensive language tonight, but if you’ve seen the film I Swear, it’s about the experience of a person with Tourette syndrome.

‘It is a disability and the ticks you have heard tonight are involuntary that means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language and we apologize if it has caused offence.’ 

The neurological condition, characterized by a combination of involuntary noises and movements called tics, affects roughly one in 100 children, according to NHS England. 

Davidson was previously awarded an MBE for his tirelessly work over the years to heighten awareness of the condition.

Recalling the ‘proudest’ moment of his life when he was handed his MBE, John revealed that on the day, aside from swearing at the Queen, he experienced a compulsion to tell police officers at Holyrood Palace that he had ‘a f***ing bomb!’ as they routinely checked his vehicle.

The movie based on his life, I Swear, stars Robert Aramayo as the campaigner and depicts his younger years living in Glasgow, when he was first diagnosed with Tourette syndrome.

The film was nominated in the Outstanding British Film category, but lost out to Hamnet.

However, Aramayo bagged the award for Lead Actor, beating front-runners Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothee Chalamet who were also up for the award.

He also won the EE Rising Star Award, the only public-voted accolade of the night.

Two millionaire couples living in an exclusive London suburb are locked in a £260,000 battle over a three-foot bulge in a basement wall.

Safina Haleema and Anthony O’Connor are suing award-winning mental health consultant Amy McKeown and her husband Matthew Dalton over the wonky wall in their £1.5million Primrose Hill home.

The complainants say that the concrete bulge encroaches by 90cm into their property and are asking for some £100,000 in compensation from their baffled neighbours. 

But Ms McKeown and Mr Dalton aren’t budging. They claim that the ‘absurd’ six-year battle has left them unable to sell up – and that their neighbours’ claim is ‘riddled with inconsistencies’. 

The couple’s barrister, Hugh Rowan, argues that an agreement signed in 2016 allowed for a wall in their basement extension which ‘straddled the boundary line’ – but Mr O’Connor and Ms Haleema later changed their minds. 

The spat, set against the backdrop of the celebrity-studded north London neighbourhood, has now reached Mayor’s and City County Court having already racked up legal costs totalling £160,000. 

Outlining his clients’ position, Mr O’Connor and Ms Haleema’s barrister, Phillip Jones, said: ‘At its heart and despite the complexity which (Mr Dalton and Ms McKeown) have sought to introduce, this is a relatively straightforward case. 

‘Did Mr Dalton and Ms McKeown – through their contractors, in the course of constructing the basement, cause or permit concrete to be poured so as to protrude up to 900mm onto the claimants’ land and into what is now the claimants’ basement?’

He added that the conflict stemmed from basement works carried out a decade ago, which resulted in what was described as ‘overspill’. 

But Mr Dalton and Ms McKeown deny that their wall ‘trespasses’ over the boundary line into their neighbours’ basement and are disputing their bid for a court ruling on the precise location of the boundary line, as well as their claim for £100,000 in compensation. 

‘My clients have been stuck in limbo for the past six years,’ said Ms McKeown and Mr Dalton’s barrister, Hugh Rowan. ‘They can’t sell their house or move away because to do so would reveal the existence of this dispute.’ 

He argued that any compensation award would be unfair ‘double recovery’ for Mr O’Connor and Ms Haleema, since they previously received an insurance payout for the concrete overspill in 2023. 

‘Mr Dalton and Ms McKeown have repeatedly pointed out the absurdity of this position; not only did the 2016 award expressly allow for a wall that straddled the boundary line, but the claimants’ own expert accepted that the 2016 award allowed a ‘retaining wall astride the party wall boundary”,’ he continued. 

Barrister Rohan added that Mr O’Connor and Ms Haleema are yet to clarify exactly where the ‘overspill’ from the basement wall begins. 

He told Judge Nicholas Parfitt: ‘Over the last half a decade, my clients have repeatedly and exhaustively sought to understand the claimants’ case, however what is now finally clear is that the claimants do not know what their own case is.

‘Their pleadings are riddled with inconsistencies, contradictions, and speculations. Even after five years, Mr O’Connor and Ms Haleema have still not advanced a clear case as to either how much overspill is alleged or what the cost of remedy would be.’

Mr O’Connor and Ms Haleema say they discovered the subterranean concrete overspill after commissioning their own basement dig in 2020, although they later ditched the project.

Their barrister, Mr Jones, disputed any lack of clarity in his clients’ case and argued that – ‘whatever the extent of the permitted works, the defendants hugely exceeded it and encroached significantly onto the claimants’ land causing damage to the claimants’.

The case reached court for a pre-trial clash between the neighbours as Ms McKeown and Mr Dalton urged Judge Parfitt to ‘strike out’ the allegedly ‘hopeless’ claim on the basis of lack of clarity and inconsistency.

However, after several hours of dense argument, the judge declined to dismiss the case, ruling that he would allow Mr O’Connor and Ms Haleema a final chance to prepare definitive ‘particulars of claim’ mapping out the detail of their legal claim.

The case is set to return to court at a later date.

By GRAEME CULLIFORD

Published: 19:43 EST, 22 February 2026 | Updated: 20:56 EST, 22 February 2026

The Crown Prosecution Service ‘failed’ when it declined to bring a case against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor 10 years ago despite being given compelling evidence, the lawyer for his accuser has claimed.

David Boies, who represented Virginia Giuffre, said that the decision by the CPS and the Metropolitan Police in 2016 was ‘clearly erroneous’.

Mr Boies said that there was ‘substantial evidence’ that Andrew had sex with Ms Giuffre in London in 2001 when she was 17 after being taken there by the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Instead the Metropolitan Police and the CPS said in 2016 they were not the right authorities as much of the conduct was not in Britain.

Now, after the release of three million files about Epstein by the US Department of Justice, the Metropolitan Police is one of 11 UK police forces investigating the operation of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring in Britain.

The claims by Mr Boies, one of the most prominent lawyers in the US, come days after Andrew was arrested for misconduct in a public office for allegedly passing sensitive information to Epstein.

The former Prince was questioned for 11 hours on his 66th birthday before being released from a police station in Aylsham, Norfolk.

He has not been charged with sex offences so far but Ms Giuffre, who committed suicide last April at the age of 41, claimed she was loaned to Andrew by Epstein three times in 2001.

Andrew has always denied her claims and said in his 2019 interview with BBC’s Newsnight he never met Ms Giuffre.

However in 2022 he settled a battery case she brought against him in a US court for a reported £10million.

In an exclusive interview, Mr Boies said that in 2016 he and his team spoke to American prosecutors after filing a defamation lawsuit in New York against Epstein’s ‘madam’ Ghislaine Maxwell.

According to Mr Boies, the US prosecutors relayed the claims against Andrew to their British counterparts but he ‘didn’t get any response’.

Instead, in November 2016, the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service issued a joint statement saying no further action could be taken because the allegations were largely focused on conduct outside the UK.

The Metropolitan Police said it was ‘not the appropriate authority’ and so would not be taking any further action.

Mr Boies called that decision not to investigate in 2016 ‘clearly erroneous’.

He said: ‘There was photographic evidence: the photograph of Andrew and Virginia in Maxwell’s (London) house, that was published in 2011.

‘The idea that they didn’t know it was happening in the UK is not sustainable.

‘Prosecutors generally have failed to pursue sex trafficking even when the evidence of it was presented and even when much of the evidence was public.’

Mr Boies said that even back in 2016 the evidence that Andrew had sex with trafficked women was compelling and there was ‘no significant room for doubt’ that Ms Giuffre was loaned to him by Epstein.

He said: ‘There’s substantial evidence based on Andrew’s presence at Epstein’s various residences, his interactions not just with Virginia but other victims as well that Andrew certainly should have known what was going on.’

Mr Boies praised King Charles and said that he had imposed ‘ever greater sanctions’ on his brother as the allegations against him grew more serious.

The blame did not lay with the Royal Family, as Mr Boies saw it, because Andrew was telling them the same lies he was telling the public.

Mr Boies said: ‘Everything I’ve heard…was Andrew was saying the same thing to his mother and brother and other people as he was saying publicly: ‘I didn’t do it, this is extortion, I’m innocent.”

Since Andrew’s arrest, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson has not been seen publicly and Mr Boies said it was time for her to return to the UK and face the music.

But now she ‘absolutely’ had to go back to the UK and speak to the police because she was an ‘important’ witness, Mr Boies said.

He said: ‘The circumstances under which she gives her evidence I think can depend on what her exposure is but everybody (with evidence) ought to give it.’

Mr Boies worked with Ms Giuffre for several years through a series of bitter legal cases with Epstein, Maxwell and other powerful men.

The mother-of-three committed suicide last year at the age of 41.

Her not being alive to see Andrew arrested is ‘very, very sad’, Mr Boies said.

He said: ‘Had it not been for Virginia I would have never been involved. If it had not been for her we wouldn’t have had cases against Maxwell then Epstein that built an evidentiary record that helped with the prosecution in the US.

‘Had it not been for Virginia the focus would never have been on Andrew. She was the one that first outed him, she was the person who persisted year after year enduring enormous abuse and attacks from Epstein and his cohorts.

‘If it had not been for her the lawsuit against Andrew would never have been filed, and this thing could have easily died. She was a woman of enormous courage, commitment and I think not to have her alive when people are even partially being held to account is very sad’.  

As for Andrew, Mr Boies said that ‘if he doesn’t get it now, he never will’.

He said: ‘This might be enough of a shock to get him to understand he is not above the law.’

In its statement issued on Friday, the Metropolitan Police said that it was ‘assessing’ the Epstein Files released by the DOJ.

In addition, the force is ‘actively seeking further detail from law enforcement partners, including those in the United States’, the statement said.

The statement said: ‘While we are aware of the extensive media reporting and commentary about this matter, as of today, no new criminal allegations have been made to the Met regarding sexual offences said to have occurred within our jurisdiction. We continue to urge anyone with new or relevant information to come forward. All allegations will be taken seriously and, as with any matter, any information received will be assessed and investigated where appropriate.’

Ella Marriott, central specialist crime commander at the Metropolitan Police, added: ‘Our thoughts will always be with Ms Giuffre’s family and friends following her death.

‘In 2015, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) received allegations relating to non-recent trafficking for sexual exploitation involving Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. These allegations primarily concerned events outside the United Kingdom, with one allegation of trafficking to central London in March 2001.

‘Officers assessed all available evidence at the time, interviewed the complainant, Ms Virginia Giuffre as well as contacting several other potential victims. This did not result in any allegation of criminal conduct against any UK-based nationals. 

‘The MPS sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and liaised with United States authorities, who were leading investigations into related matters involving US nationals.

‘Following this legal advice, it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities outside the UK and perpetrators based overseas. 

‘Officers therefore concluded, in consultation with the CPS, that other international authorities were best placed to progress these allegations. 

‘Officers maintained close liaison with the United States and other relevant authorities throughout their investigation to ensure any UK matters could be identified and to consider any support requested.

‘A decision was made in November 2016 not to proceed to a full criminal investigation. That decision was reviewed in August 2019 and again in 2021 and 2022; in each instance, the position remained unchanged, and Ms Giuffre and her legal representative were informed.

‘Following recent reporting suggesting that Mr Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked his Met Police Close Protection Officer to carry out checks on Ms Giuffre in 2011, the MPS has carried out a further assessment. This assessment has not revealed any additional evidence of criminal acts or misconduct.

‘The Met remains committed to thoroughly assessing any new information that could assist in this matter. To date, we have not received any additional evidence that would support reopening the investigation. 

‘In the absence of any further information, we will be taking no further action. As with any other matter, should new and relevant information be brought to our attention, including in any information resulting from the release of material in the US, we will assess it.’

The Daily Mail has contacted the CPS for comment. Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have both been approached for comment.

Cohen Bidgood scored twice and added an assist as the London Knights doubled up the Sudbury Wolves 4-2 on Feb. 22 at Canada Life Place.

Bidgood now has four goals and three assists in his past three games.

The Knights roared out to a 4-0 lead through 20 minutes as Bidgood scored twice and helped to set up another.

The first was set up by Will Nicholl and the second came off of a steal on the right side of the Wolves zone.

Jaxson Cover then fed Nicholl 26 seconds later to make it 3-0 Knights.

Cover had two assists in the opening 20 minutes and also chased down Chase Coughlin of Sudbury to deny a breakaway and drew a penalty at the other end of the ice on the same shift.

On that power play Bidgood got the puck on goal and Braiden Clark hammered home a rebound for his 14th goal of the year with just eight seconds showing on the clock and London led 4-0 heading to the dressing room.

Sudbury’s 2025 first-round pick Brayden Bennett scored the only goal of the second period as he deflected a Genc Ula shot into the Knight net at 13:49.

In the third period, Wolves defenceman Artem Gonchar snapped a shot through traffic from the middle of the blue line with 4:21 remaining to tighten the score to 4-2.

London held on from there and moved to within three points of Sault Ste. Marie for fourth place in the Western Conference. Each team now has 11 games remaining in the regular season.

The Knights outshot the Wolves 38-28.

Seb Gatto made 26 saves for his 17th win of the year for London.

The Knights were 1-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

The downs and ups of Oliver Bonk and Landon Sim

Former Knights defenceman Oliver Bonk was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms for a day. Bonk practiced with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and was then reassigned to Lehigh Valley indicating he could be close to seeing some time in the big league. If and when Bonk debuts he would join Flyers teammate Denver Barkey and Easton Cowan and Sam Dickinson as the fourth player from the 2025 Memorial Cup Championship team to already make their NHL debut.

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Former Knight forward Landon Sim is back with the Toronto Marlies. Sim missed time with a lower body injury early this year and had been sent to Cincinnati of the ECHL where he played 18 games. Sim scored one of the most memorable goals in London’s championship run last season when he knocked a rebound out of the air and in against the Oshawa Generals to score the insurance goal in the J. Ross Robertson Cup clinching Game 5 of the OHL Championship Series.

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The Knights will finish their six-game home stand when they host the Windsor Spitfires at Canada Life Place on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.

Windsor has the upper hand in the six-game season series having won two of the three games played so far but London won the most recent game when Andoni Fimis scored in overtime at the WFCU Centre on Dec. 6.

Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m., on 980 CFPL, at and on the iHeart Radio and Radioplayer Canada apps.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

By JAMIE BULLEN, LIVE COVERAGE EDITOR and AMELIA WYNNE, SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER and BETHAN EDWARDS, SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER

Updated: 15:07 EST, 22 February 2026

One of the first police officers on the scene of the 2017 London Bridge terror attack has been sacked for gross misconduct.

DC Mark Luker used the word ‘pikey’ in messages about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, a tribunal heard.

In one WhatsApp message, the British Transport Policeman used the term ‘dag’s, referencing a scene in the Guy Ritchie film Snatch in which Stephen Graham’s character struggles to understand Brad Pitt’s character’s accent when he mentions dogs.

Luker, in another message, referred to ‘scrap metal, lead roofing and cable’ which he admitted was a joke to associate theft with the Irish Traveller community, the panel was told.

The panel concluded he probably knew the language was ‘offensive’ to a minority community and ruled it gross misconduct.

Luker was a member of a WhatsApp group called ‘Selbie Gumshoes’ with other members of the Major Serious and Organised Crime (MSOC) team.

On December 31 2024, during a conversation about someone winning a bottle of whiskey which still had a security tag attached, he wrote: ‘Was this a raffle on a certain kind of site? Lots of mobile-type homes? Lots of ‘Dags?”

He then added: ‘You are the MSOC pikey liaison.’

The panel found that these were ‘deliberate messages that clearly link the Irish Traveller community to acts of theft.’

On March 17, 2025, another group member shared a video of ‘Paddy Day parade on Inishbofin’, with the message: ‘Just like a Disney World Parade. They know how to put on a show,’ the panel heard.

Luker replied: ‘Off to find some scrap metal, lead roofing and cable’, the panel was told.

The panel concluded that this was ‘deliberate and discriminatory’ in linking the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community to theft.

Luker said that he was one of the first responders to the 2017 terrorist attack on London Bridge, and one of his coping mechanisms for dealing with the day can involve the use of humour.

He said he did not intend for the word ‘pikey’ in the messages to be offensive, and the panel accepted that DC Luker was not ‘inherently racist’.

The panel wrote: ‘As an experienced BTP police officer used to dealing with a whole range of people, the panel found that, on the balance of probabilities, he probably would have known that this was an especially offensive use of language directed towards members of a minority community.’

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