Banned City Of London Thief Caught Stealing Bike

A bike thief, who flouted his Square Mile banning order when cutting a cycle lock with an angle grinder in busy Cheapside, has been jailed.

Christopher Forrester, 39, pleaded guilty to theft of the £1800 bicycle and breaching his Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).

He received a total of twenty-four weeks imprisonment.

On Tuesday, June 16 at approximately 6:15pm, Forrester was caught on CCTV cutting through a D-lock on a secured bike.

Two City of London Police officers were alerted of the attempted theft by members of the public.

When officers approached Forrester with tasers drawn he picked up the stolen bike and attempted to get away.

Officers chased and following some assistance from a member of the public, Forrester was arrested.

The bike, with a value of around £1,800, was returned to the owner.

Police Constable Izzy Grace, of the City of London Police, said: “This sentencing demonstrates that theft will not be tolerated and that offenders will be brought before the courts.

“Members of the public alerted our officers when they were carrying out patrols in the City and they immediately arrested the suspect.

“The City's extensive CCTV network remains an invaluable tool in helping us investigate offences and secure convictions. 

“We will continue to carry out proactive patrols, target offenders and use all available evidence-gathering opportunities to bring those responsible for crime to justice.”

Forrester was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to 24 weeks in prison for theft and 12 weeks in prison for breaching his CBO, which he will serve concurrently.

Party Is Over For Armed Square Mile Gunman

A gunman, who left his loaded firearm in a people carrier when City of London Police started questioning the driver, has been locked-up for five years.

Kaenan Dixon, 22, of Thurlow Park Road, Tulse Hill, south London had the gun and ammunition inside his blue Louis Vuitton man bag as CCTV captured him wandering up and down the busy late-night street in the heart of the Square Mile.

Crowds of people spilled into Jewry Street at 4.30am on August 17, 2024 after an event and after wandering around Dixon jumped into a Mercedes Vito van with multiple people. 

However, a female passenger told police in the area she had been assaulted by an individual in the van and officers approached and began questioning a man sitting on the front passenger seat.

Meanwhile, the rear passengers, including Dixon, exited the van and officers later found the firearm and ammunition.

Other bladed weapons were discovered inside and outside the vehicle.

DNA linked him to the firearm and Dixon booked a flight to Los Angeles on the same day.

At Inner London Crown Court he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm.

The suspected driver was arrested and interviewed and he denied any knowledge of the weapons seized. 

He said it was the first time he had ever met the individuals and didn’t know their names.

The Louis Vuitton man bag came back with a full DNA hit on Dixon, via the National DNA database. 

When officers trawled through the clear CCTV footage it showed Dixon wearing the man bag, pacing up and down the street.

Detective Constable Simon Gray, City of London Police, said: “Every illegal firearm we recover is potentially a life saved. 

“Guns have no place on the streets of the City, and we are relentless in our efforts to identify those who possess them and bring them before the courts.

“This case demonstrates the vital role that forensic science plays in modern policing. 

“DNA evidence provided the crucial link that enabled officers to identify and prosecute the offender, ensuring a dangerous weapon was removed from our streets.”

The Second Great Fire Of London: Five Years For Arsonist

An arsonist, who set ablaze a restaurant in the heart of the City of London, is starting a five-year prison sentence.

Ahmed Kawa, 35, fought the charge, but was convicted by an Inner London Crown Court jury of arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered when he started the fire in Lovat Lane.

Alvise Dal Mas’s Salotto 31 wine bar and restaurant was set alight on June 12, last year, causing £411,500 worth of damage.

In the victim impact statement Alvise said it hadn’t been an easy time for him, his family or the staff and after the fire he couldn’t sleep and would worry all the time.

CCTV footage captured the moment Kawa used a lighter to set fire to a bag of rubbish, before walking away. 

Minutes later, the fire caught on to outside tables and chairs, which soon erupted into flames.

The inferno smashed the windows of the building and then it spread inside the restaurant; incinerating furniture, electrical equipment and decorations. 

The heat of the fire also ruined bottles of wine and spirits.

Kawa’s image from the CCTV was shared across the force, triggering a coordinated response to find him. 

Plain clothed officers and dedicated ward officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team engaged directly with the homeless community to track him down.

Working with a local charity, who identified Kawa and his whereabouts, officers moved in to arrest him.

“This business is something I am proud to own. I worked really hard to get to where I am and to get the businesses to where it is… This is not just a business to me; it is like a home. It is my whole life and has my whole life inside,” Alvise said in his statement.

Salotto 31

Alvise was finally able to reopen his restaurant in December, 2025.

The Antiquarian Horological Society was also damaged in the fire, with the blaze causing £76,597 worth of damage to that building.

Detective Constable Eleanor Gill, at the City of London Police’s Criminal Investigations Department, said: “This dangerous act committed by Kawa could have been even worse and it was a miracle no one was seriously injured.

“Kawa deliberately started a fire and walked away, showing absolutely no regard for the safety of others. 

“The City’s CCTV network enabled us to identify the offender, track his movements and show him committing his crime on camera.

“We’re committed to working with and protecting local businesses and supporting those affected by crime during our enquiries to quickly identify suspects and bring them to justice.”

During the trial, the judge noted that the fire occurred near the origin of the Great Fire of London in 1666. 

Kawa was spotted on CCTV walking down Pudding Lane and drinking from the water fountain at the Monument, which commemorates the historic fire.

Accused Policeman Denies Works Christmas Party Grope

UPDATE: WILL PACKHAM WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY BY THE JURY AND REMAINS A PERSON OF GOOD CHARACTER 100% INNOCENT OF THE CHARGE

A drunken policeman groped a female officer’s chest on a cocktail bar’s dance floor during their Christmas party, a court heard.

Metropolitan Police officer Will Packham, 45, told the 24 year-old: “Do you know you’re really hot,” shortly after the incident, the Inner London Crown Court jury were told.

However, when questioned he said the female officer bent over in front of him on the dance floor and deliberately pushed her bum into his groin.

Officers attached to the Public Order Crime Team descended on Simmons Bar, near the Bank of England in the heart of the Square Mile on December 8, 2023.

“Obviously drinks were flowing and I drank a fair bit,” the policewoman told the trial in a video-recorded interview. “We all had a fair bit to drink.”

She told the jury she was dancing with a male officer, a platonic friend, when Packham, who had only been with the team for three weeks, came close.

“Will turns around and puts his hand on my boob and basically squashes it,” she explained. “I went to grab my coat to get out of there.

“You don’t touch me like that and he went to stop me and it was so loud and he said something like: ‘I didn’t mean it,’ kind of thing.

“I decided I needed to remove myself from that type of situation and he told me I was hot and should give my friend what he wants.

“He is a work colleague older than me. It is not appropriate at all, it is not good.

“There is a hand there. I can physically feel it and then a squashing like a ball.

“It was long enough that it was like two separate movements.

“It was half a second, not that long. I froze and always thought being in the job I’d know what to do, but I didn’t know what to do, I just froze.”

The officer said she deliberately decided not to make a scene at the time. “It may have ended up with all of us in custody and I didn’t want that at a Christmas party.

“I just needed to get out of there and get some fresh air.”

She had a vape outside the bar with a female colleague and revealed what happened on the dance floor, said prosecutor Charlotte Bull.

“She said it was not accidental and said: ‘Will touched my boob.’

“She decided to stay and not let Mr Packham ruin her night, but she found his comments creepy in light of how he treated her.

“She describes herself as ‘tipsy’ and borderline drunk, but always took steps not to get too drunk and would consume water between alcohol drinks,” added the prosecutor.

“The officer started dancing in a circle with others from the party and Mr Packham was standing next to her and then in front of her.

“While dancing Mr Packham put his right hand on her left breast and squeezed it and she describes it as ‘like squeezing a ball.’

“He held his hand for a second and squeezed it and it felt very deliberate, she says.”

The jury were told the complainant felt like ‘kneeing him in the groin’ or ‘smacking his face’ but decided against it due to the professional work environment.

“The second female officer noticed Mr Packham was very drunk and when the group made their way to the train station he had no idea how to get home.”

Packham, who described himself as “merry” that night, having consumed several beers, plus rum and coke was questioned five weeks later.

He answered everything put to him and denied groping the woman.

“He said she was dancing bent over double with her back to him while pushing her bottom into his groin and he raised his hands,” said Ms Bull.

“He denied touching her breast and telling her she was hot.” 

Packham, of Partridge Lane, Newdigate, Horsham, Surrey has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault.

Trial continues…….

Blackmailer Targeted Witness And Daughter After Bitter High Court Case

Guilty: Darren Cooper

The gay husband of a defeated High Court litigant - who lost a share of a £1.2m property - has been convicted of blackmailing a tech entrepreneur witness and stalking the businessman and his model daughter. 

Darren Cooper, 54, created a newspaper-style blog, which falsely accused tech industry CEO Peter Gillingwater, 52, of drug dealing and sexual abuse.

He even included the businessman’s model/singer daughter Aimee Gillingwater, 28, in his “abusive and derogatory” online campaign and threatened to destroy her career.

Inner London Crown Court heard he eventually demanded sums of £250,000; £100,000 and £80,000 to close down the blog and delete abusive posts on twitter and LinkedIn.

Cooper, of Brayburne Avenue, Clapham fought the charges, but was convicted of blackmailing Mr Gillingwater between January 14 and July 19, 2023.

He was also found guilty by the jury of stalking the father and daughter between January 1, 2021 and July 19, 2023.

Today he was bailed until November 27 for a pre-sentence report.

Cooper’s husband, South Africa-born Thain Kleinhentz - an NHS health advisor - lost a High Court claim for a share of his ex’s Baron’s Court house in Margravine Gardens, which sold for £1.2m in 2015.

He claimed he was owed £250,000 after sharing the property for many years as the partner of the property’s owner Mark Harrison, but lost after a two-day trial.

Mr Gillingwater gave evidence on behalf of Mr Harrison, resulting in Cooper creating a blog condemning his character and behaviour in the witness box.

“He repeatedly posted abusive and derogatory material online about them and demanded £80,000 and then larger sums of £100,000 and £250,000 to remove the material,” said prosecutor Jonathan Whitley.

“This is vengeful behaviour that arises from a civil court case in 2020 when Mr Kleinhentz said he was entitled to a share of the property owned by Mr Harrison.

Targeted: Aimee & Peter Gillingwater

“Mr Kleinhentz lost with an order for costs against him and he declared bankruptcy,” added Mr Whitley. “This defendant is his husband and believes he should have won the case and blames the complainant for losing.

“Cooper admits posting the material and sending emails to the family and company board members and says he was justified in doing that.”

Mr Gillingwater told the jury the family took the decision to go to the authorities after receiving an email that referred to the “gang bang” of his daughter.

“She was a significant target. The language and implication was unacceptable and we decided it was time to take action about these hundreds of emails and documents and approach the police.”

He also received a phone call, again targeting his daughter’s upcoming show. “I recognised it as Darren. He said he was going to destroy her again and this was a threat to her and her gig.”

The businessman had already received a demand for £100,000 for the blog’s removal from Cooper, one of three separate payment demands for different amounts.

“It was another attempt to solicit payment to see if we were prepared to pay for the content to disappear. We did not respond as we thought he was getting desperate.”

Another email from Cooper threatened to go to the national press with his allegations.

“This was another attempt by the accused to embarrass us by making it a story and threatening to go to the press with a non-story.”

The campaign did result in the CEO leaving a board associated with one large blue chip company and distancing himself from a charity, where he was a mentor.

“It worried me that my reputation would be ruined by these allegations,” he told the trial.

A few weeks after the court’s ruling Cooper created a blog, which described Mr Gillingwater in the headline as a ‘Paedo’ adding he ‘lies in court about previous sexual abuse allegations.’

Cooper also wrote about ‘lies exposed’ regarding the tech boss, accusing him of drug dealing and addiction; child pornography; cocaine supply and making false accusations. 

“The blog posts were sent to the family and others, including board members of the man’s company to denigrate his reputation and the rest of his family,” explained the prosecutor.

Cooper messaged the businessman’s model daughter: ‘OMG. I saw on twitter your dad raped you, b******.’

He also threatened to damage her career by writing she was involved in child pornography, which was still available on the dark web.

“This campaign has caused serious distress to the family and the daughter says she has lost modelling work and has been unable to post on social media,” said Mr Whitley.

Cooper and Kleinhentz were both arrested, but police charged only the defendant, who admitted in a statement creating the blogs and emailing the family.

Cooper told officers both he and his husband were the victims of “slurs” and he was simply “trying to shine a light on abuse,” complaining his husband didn’t receive justice at the High Court.

Disgraced Ex-LibDem Council Chief Sent Back To Prison

Sign Of The Times: Osbourne

The disgraced former leader of Kingston-upon-Thames council is back behind bars after he was caught flouting a court order by downloading images of child abuse.

Liberal Democrat Derek Osbourne, 72, received sixteen months imprisonment, his second period of custody for a similar offence.

“Your life has been divided by two distinct passages, before and after 2013,” Judge Simon Heptonstall told the married father-of-two. 

“You have served the local community with distinction through local politics and held high office and all this fell apart in 2013.”

Osbourne, of Burlington Road, New Malden resigned as leader of the authority in June, 2013 and in October of that year received two years imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court.

He admitted 17 counts of possessing and distributing nearly 2,850 images and 293 movies and was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Osbourne breached that order in 2015 and received a suspended prison sentence in June, 2016.

In 2021 police seized three devices belonging to him and after a lengthy investigation Osbourne pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an indecent image of a child; making an indecent image and breaching his SHPO. 

Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court heard the latest offences related to five Category A; two Category B and two prohibited images Osbourne accessed between February 24 and March 23, 2021.

Red Letter Day: Osbourne with Zac Goldsmith & Ed Davey

His lawyer Ben Hargreaves urged the court to consider a suspended sentence, arguing Osbourne was particularly stressed at the time due to covid and the illness of his sister.

However, Judge Heptonstall told him: “You chose to drink and you chose to follow links and chose specific search terms and were under no illusion what results they would return.

“You were previously in prison for doing precisely the same thing, prison time that you say has ‘stained’ you.

“During a short period in 2021 you accessed the internet, knowing you were subject to a SHPO and obtained prohibited and indecent images of children.

“These offences are aggravated very significantly by your previous convictions and your history of disobedience to court orders.

“You have taken steps to address your offending behaviour and there is no evidence of offending since 2021.”

“He knew the risks of the course of conduct he embarked on and he does not shirk or attempt to minimise the offending,” said Mr Hargreaves. 

“He had an inability to cope with pressure and has a long-standing addiction to pornography and searched for new images to shock and provoke a reaction within himself.

“He is a man with an addiction and weakness to pornography and these images are repulsive and repellent.”

The court was told Osbourne has tried to rehabilitate himself since the 2021 arrest. “In that time he has done all he can and has accepted his addiction and that he needs constant supervision and guidance.

“His family are fully aware of his actions and are appalled,” added Mr Hargreaves, revealing his client’s two daughters support him with one happy to allow her young son to see him.

“If he continues therapy there is hope and optimism for this man, who the public accepted before his fall in 2013 when he was a good man who dedicated his life to this borough and to his wife and children.”

Judge Heptonstall noted: “Most people stressed during covid didn’t type ‘Lolita’ into a search engine,” also referring to Osbourne clicking on ‘share young erotic cartoons’.

“I have been addressed about your reform and rehabilitation, but each image you accessed was a real image of a child that has suffered abuse and each image is a serious offence,” the judge told Osbourne.