Man stabbed after answering fake ad

A man almost died after being attacked on his way to buy a car offered for sale in a fake advert on the Gumtree listings website.

The 42-year-old was beaten and stabbed in North Street, Barking, east London, at 3.50pm on July 30, after being lured to the area by the advert for a Volkswagen Golf.

Witnesses saw two men, described as black and believed to be in their 20s, punch, kick and finally stab the victim as they tried to wrestle a bag with around £5,000 in it from him.

He was treated at the scene by air ambulance personnel before being transferred to the Royal London Hospital where he had life-saving surgery.

Detective Chief Inspector Ellie O'Connor, Barking CID, said: "This was a brutal attack on an innocent man who was responding to an online advertisement in good faith.

"We are appealing for anyone who witnessed this attack or who knows anything about it to come forward."

She warned people replying to internet classified adverts to follow certain rules to stay safe.

She said: "Do not go to the meeting point alone, do not carry large amounts of cash on your person, make sure that you meet in a busy area and never allow yourself to be lured away from a safe meeting place."continues here

MENTAL TESTS ON STABBINGS SPREE MAN

Police are assessing the mental health of a 19-year-old man who was detained by members of the public after eight people were stabbed in a town centre.

Officers were called to Keighley, in West Yorkshire, after reports of a number of stabbings in two separate incidents.

The first victim was attacked at about 10.15pm on Thursday in Victoria Street, while the others were injured about two hours later in North Street.

A 24-year-old man received stab wounds in the first attack. He remains in a stable condition in hospital.

At about 12.30am on Friday, a second incident happened in North Street in which "a further seven members of the public received injuries caused by a knife", said West Yorkshire police.

A force spokesman said that of these seven, four people were detained in hospital and all are said to be in a stable condition. They are three women, aged 44, 26 and 51, and a 30-year-old man.

The spokesman said: "Police have arrested a 19-year-old local man in connection with both incidents. He had been detained by members of the public near the Wetherspoons bar.

"The 19-year-old is being held in custody ... and is currently being assessed for mental health issues." continues here

Manningham man shouted racial abuse before attack

A teenager who stabbed and slashed a passer-by in a racially motivated attack has been locked up for five years.

Amir Rehman, 18, shouted racial abuse as 51-year-old Ronald O’Connor walked to a shop for a loaf of bread, near the gates of Lister Park, Manning-ham, last December.

Leeds Crown Court was told Rehman shouted out:

“Manningham belongs to Muslims. We don’t want whites. We rule Bradford. We are going to get you out.”

His frightened victim, Ronald O’Connor, tried to get in the shop, but Rehman ran up and stabbed him twice in the upper arm with a four to five-inch bladed knife.

The court heard that Rehman, of Lumb Lane, Manningham, was describ-ed as in a frenzy, “like a crazy man, out of control,” as he tried to slash Mr O’Connor’s face. The palms of Mr O’Connor’s hands were slashed as he tried to defend himself.

Prosecutor Richard Gioserano said: “Rehman was swinging at him over and over again with the knife. Mr O’Connor was in great pain and in fear, literally, of his life.”

Mr O’Connor ran into the shop. Police were called and Rehman was arrested outside.

Mr O’Connor had surgery at Bradford Royal Infirmary for a deep laceration to his palm. He also suffered lacerations to his fingers and two incisions to his upper arm with apparent nerve damage.

Mr Gioserano said Rehman attended Bradford Crown Court for a preliminary hearing of the case in March, but went straight from court to Pudsey, with two other men, Amar Farooq and Tanveer Hussain, where, later in the day, they committed a series of robberies on children on their way home from school.

During the street muggings some of the youngsters were threatened with being stabbed, though no knife was seen. The court heard that the defendants were clearly drunk.

Jonathan Devlin, for Rehman, said there were no explanations or excuses for the offences other than drink.

All three pleaded guilty to three robberies. Rehman pleaded guilty to wounding with intent in connection with the Manningham incident.

Hussain, 23, of Lumb Lane, Manning-ham, and Farooq, 25, of Agar Street, Girlington, were jailed for 30 months.

Rehman was sent to youth custody for a total of five years.

The judge, Recorder David Bradshaw, told Rehman he had committed an unprovoked attack on an innocent man causing “horrendous” injuries. continues here

Government adviser on Islamic terror arrested after man is stabbed at his home

A Muslim who advised the Government following the July 7 London bombings has been arrested after an alleged stabbing.

Inayat Bunglawala, 39, was held on suspicion of attacking another man at his £300,000 home.

Mr Bunglawala, who also briefed former Security Minister Tony McNulty on the threat posed by Islamic radicals in the UK, was arrested two weeks before Christmas last year.

The identity of the alleged victim is unknown and it is not clear what circumstances led to the alleged attack in the early hours of December 13 last year.

Mr Bunglawala has been released on bail while the Crown Prosecution Service considers bringing charges.

Mr Bunglawala is one of the most prominent members of the Muslim Council of Britain, an organisation which advises the Government on extremism and counter-terrorism.

After the July 7 London bombings in 2005, he was one of seven Muslims appointed to a Home Office taskforce tackling radicalisation in the UK.

Last week, Mr Bunglawala was featured on the BBC and in many newspapers as the moderate ‘voice’ of British Islam after the Luton anti-war demonstrations.

Critics claim his arrest will once again focus attention on the MCB.

In his final years as Prime Minister, Tony Blair came to distrust the organisation amid claims it was linked to Islamic extremism. But the MCB has enjoyed a renaissance under Gordon Brown and briefed Counter-Terrorism Minister Bill Rammell on community tensions last week. MCB representatives also advised Foreign Secretary David Miliband during last year’s Israel-Gaza War.

Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, who worked as a security adviser to Mr Brown, said of the alleged incident: ‘This calls into question the Government’s vetting of its Islamic advisers.’

Mr Bunglawala has previously worked as a civil servant at Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs but now runs an Islamic website.

His wife, Tahmina Saleem, works for Redbridge Council in East London. They have several children. According to the Land Registry’s records, Mr Bunglawala bought his large Luton townhouse for £300,000 in August 2007.

Many in the Islamic community have been concerned at his behaviour. Mr Bunglawala – the MCB assistant general secretary and Press spokesman – lodged a complaint with the BBC after its website described firebrand cleric Abu Qatada as an ‘extremist’.

Dubbed Al Qaeda’s ‘Ambassador in Europe’, Abu Qatada gave religious authority to extremist groups in the UK and abroad, including the men behind the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre.

Last night, a BBC News source said: ‘We were right to call Abu Qatada an extremist and we would be happy to do so again.’

In 2005, following his appointment to the Home Office, it was revealed that Mr Bunglawala had previously accused the BBC’s management of ‘Zionism’ due to the presence in the Corporation of several prominent Jews, including Michael Grade and Alan Yentob.

Five months before the 9/11 attacks, Mr Bunglawala circulated writings of Osama Bin Laden, whom he regarded as a ‘freedom fighter’, to hundreds of Muslims in Britain.

When this came to light in 2005, Mr Bunglawala said he did not hold those views any longer.

Last night, Mr Bunglawala refused to discuss the alleged stabbing as it was a ‘police matter’.

His lawyers, the £400-an-hour celebrity firm Carter-Ruck, said that he ‘vigorously denies having committed any criminal act whatsoever in relation to this incident’.

A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police confirmed the arrest of Mr Bunglawala but refused to comment further. continues here