A man has been charged with the attempted murder of five people after a car ploughed into pedestrians at a crossing in west London on Saturday afternoon, in an incident that left three people in hospital with injuries including broken facial bones and a fractured pelvis.
Timir Ahmed Mohamed, 34, of Grange Park, Ealing, was arrested after the collision on The Broadway, W5, shortly before 2.30pm on June 27. The Metropolitan Police said the white Seat Leon he was driving allegedly drove through a red light, accelerated, undertook stationary traffic and struck multiple pedestrians, with some reportedly “projected into the air”. The vehicle then continued, colliding with stationary traffic before being stopped on Warwick Road. Mohamed faces five counts of attempted murder, as well as charges of dangerous driving, failing to stop, failing to provide a specimen of breath and criminal damage. He was remanded in custody and due to appear at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Monday. Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing London were consulted but the force has said the incident is not being treated as terrorism.
Crime and regulatory enforcement
In a separate incident on the North Circular Road, two people were injured when a black Ford Focus crashed into a bus stop queue just before 8am on Sunday. Witnesses described the car travelling “very fast” around a bend on a stretch of road where “everyone goes very fast”. One witness told police that “people were inches from death”. The vehicle somersaulted and landed upside down. London Ambulance Service treated two individuals at the scene and took them to hospital. The road was temporarily closed. The incident follows a similar crash on the A406 Angel Road in Edmonton in May 2023, in which one person died and two were injured.
Two roofers have been ordered to pay £26,400 in compensation after charging a customer more than double the original agreed price and leaving the job unfinished. Billy Dunbar, 26, and John Smith, 23, trading as Pinner Roofing, admitted misleading commercial practices. Hillingdon Council’s trading standards team found the initial agreement was for £25,000, but the victim was told the work was more extensive and eventually paid £52,800 before refusing to pay more. Dunbar received a suspended prison sentence, unpaid work and rehabilitation; Smith received a community order with unpaid work and rehabilitation.
In a separate prosecution, Escon Construction Ltd, a London-registered firm, pleaded guilty at St Albans Magistrates’ Court on June 17 to illegally demolishing a protected home in the Moor Park Conservation Area without planning permission. Three Rivers District Council had refused permission, and a subsequent appeal was upheld, but the demolition had already taken place. The company was fined £20,000, plus a £2,000 surcharge and £2,500 in costs.
Council concerns over Soho nightlife
Westminster City Council has been accused of “thwarting fun in Soho” after it failed to apply for funding that would have boosted the area’s nightlife, according to a report. The accusation comes as the Mayor of London announced a separate cash boost of nearly £500,000 to help councils across the capital expand al fresco dining, outdoor events and cultural activities through the “Summer Streets” programme. That funding is being distributed to 13 boroughs, including Westminster, but the specific Soho nightlife funding was not applied for.
A historic south London pub, which had previously been threatened with redevelopment, is now at the centre of a community effort to secure its future, the BBC reports. Meanwhile, Shoreditch Town Hall – a Grade II listed building that hosted the inquest into the murder of Jack the Ripper’s last victim, and later became a boxing venue and trance nightspot – is opening its doors for a history tour as part of the Hackney History Festival. Tickets for the tour, which explores spaces not usually open to the public, are priced at £6.
Goldsmiths, University of London: financial pressures and a new leader
Goldsmiths, University of London, has appointed a new vice-chancellor as it struggles with mounting financial pressures and the prospect of further staff cuts. The institution – which has faced significant budget deficits and has already undergone rounds of redundancies – is yet to name the new leader publicly, but the appointment comes at a critical time for the university, which has warned that it may need to make further cuts to balance its books. The financial outlook has been described as “severe” by staff representatives, with the university citing declining student numbers and rising costs.
Separately, tickets are being released for tours of Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London, the historic home of the Goldsmiths’ Company. Priced at £10, the tours offer a glimpse into the building designed by Philip Hardwick and opened in July 1835. Proceeds from the tours support vocational skills and training in the craft.
Mayor’s funding for al fresco summer
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a near-£500,000 cash boost as part of the Summer Streets programme to help councils expand al fresco dining, outdoor events and cultural activities across the capital. The funding will go to 13 boroughs: Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Greenwich, Haringey, Hounslow, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Sutton, and Waltham Forest. Large projects of up to £100,000 include a street food market in Barking and Dagenham’s Short Blue Place, al fresco dining and over 40 events along Wembley High Road and Ealing Road in Brent, outdoor dining and screenings in Greenwich’s General Gordon Square and Woolwich, and a Saturday closure of Lower Marsh in Waterloo for outdoor seating and events. Smaller “pocket” schemes of up to £10,000 will support food and drink night markets, live music and family-friendly events in the remaining boroughs. The Mayor has said the initiative aims to deliver the “biggest ever summer for al fresco dining in the capital’s history” and marks the introduction of new strategic licensing powers to support hospitality and nightlife. The programme builds on the success of the 2025 Summer Streets fund, which boosted hospitality in Lambeth, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Westminster.
Infrastructure projects: Gallows Corner and HS2
Drone photographs have captured the continuing works at Gallows Corner, where Essex & Suffolk Water has been carrying out a “complex repair” to a newly installed water main. Cones and barriers remain in place, though some sections of the road have reopened. Specialist components are being manufactured off-site, and additional underground repair work is ongoing. Speculation about a mid-October completion date has been circulating, but the water company said it is “not yet in a position to confirm a final date”. Transport for London (TfL) is working “at pace” to update residents. The works have been ongoing for over a year, causing significant disruption to motorists and businesses, with some businesses reportedly closing. Julia Lopez MP met the chief executive of Essex & Suffolk Water, describing public frustration as having “reached boiling point”. Questions have been raised about the necessity and cost of the water main diversion. TfL had originally indicated completion by September of the previous year.
Meanwhile, HS2 continues to face challenges. SCS Railways, a joint venture working on the project, has been fined £400,000 after a tipper truck driver was injured when his vehicle plunged from an excavation ramp at a site near Uxbridge in July 2021. The driver suffered a broken nose, cut hand and shoulder injury. The Health and Safety Executive found missing signs, lack of edge protection and unsupported excavation faces. SCS Railways pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations.
In a separate development, the National Audit Office has warned that revised plans for HS2 should not be implemented until the government is confident in their delivery. The watchdog said the project must be put on a “stable footing” to avoid repeating past failures. The reset process – led by HS2 CEO Mark Wild – is estimated to cost £153 million. The NAO acknowledged a “considered approach” but cautioned that “significant work remains”. The Department for Transport and HS2 Ltd are aiming to complete the reset by spring 2027. The latest cost estimate for HS2 stands at up to £102.7bn, with services between London and Birmingham not expected to start until 2039, and completion not anticipated until 2043.
In other infrastructure and heritage news, Victorian Thames stones have been transformed into permanent benches outside St Paul’s Cathedral, while folded paper sculptures have been installed to mark the centenary of the Royal Ballet School. A regular column on London’s alleys has focused on St James’s Cottages in Richmond.
