Man who murdered schoolboy in sword attack in Hainault jailed for 40 years

A father has recalled the moment he found his son lying in a pool of blood after he was murdered with a samurai sword in an unprovoked attack as his killer was jailed for at least 40 years.

Kind and thoughtful Daniel Anjorin, 14, was walking to school in his PE kit when he was ambushed by Marcus Arduini Monzo during a 20-minute rampage in Hainault, east London.

The 37-year-old killer was high on cannabis and in a drug-fuelled psychosis during the spree, which also left five people wounded.

Wearing a green jumper and grey prison-issue tracksuit, Monzo stared straight ahead as he was sentenced to life in prison. Less time already served on remand, he will serve a minimum of 38 years and 309 days before he is eligible for parole.

Judge Mr Justice Bennathan told Monzo that the peaceful, busy scene as people left for work and school on the morning of 30 April last year was “devastated” by his actions after he arrived in a “clearly psychotic state”.

“Members of the public were attacked, police officers were gravely injured, a couple were terrified in their own home, and a clever, talented, much-loved young boy was killed by a savage blow with a sword,” he said. “You, Marcos Arduini Monzo, did all of that.”

Daniel’s father, Dr Ebenezer Anjorin, told the Old Bailey on Friday the talented schoolboy set off at 7am, but within 15 minutes he was told by his eldest son that Daniel had been stabbed near their home.

“I ran outside of the house and just across the road I saw a hunched-up body by the side on the road,” he recalled in a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Tom Little KC.

“I did not realise that it was Daniel at first but as I got closer, I recognised the school sports clothes and saw his face.”

He was “lying in a pool blood” and had a “deep cut” to the side of his face, he said.

“He was motionless,” the father said. “I knew at once he was dead. I reached out and called his name and held his head.”

When Daniel’s mother arrived at the scene and saw paramedics working on her son, she screamed and cried, he added.

Paying tribute to the “much loved son and brother”, who leaves behind an older brother and younger sister, the grieving father added: “It has been the worst nightmare experience of our lives to have to go through the pain of losing a child in such a cruel and savage way.”

The father said he will never see Daniel, who was a gifted student who enjoyed sports and played the violin and piano, take his exams and go to university.

“Daniel had so much potential to excel in so many areas, he could have been a great scientist, financier, or business founder,” the father said.

“We will not see him get married or have children. All the normal things that parents hope for their children.

“All these hopes and aspirations have been cruelly snatched away from us through the wicked actions of Marcus Monzo.”

Dr Anjorin said Monzo was a “danger to society” and had shown no remorse or apologised for his actions.

He added that the “completely random, savage attack” on a school child had “shocked the community and the whole country”.

Monzo, who had a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, also attacked a pedestrian, two police officers and a couple in their own home in the horrifying spree.

Mr Little KC previously told jurors it was “miraculous” that more people were not killed as Monzo slashed and chopped at those he came across.

The trial heard Monzo had killed and skinned his pet cat, Wizard, and mowed down passer-by Donato Iwule with a van before attacking Daniel, who was walking to school with his headphones in at around 7am.

Witness Maria Olmos said Monzo dropped to his knees and held his hands up after he inflicted the mortal wounds on the unsuspecting teenager, who was a devoted Arsenal fan.

“At the time of doing so he let out an extremely loud scream,” she said. “It wasn’t a scream of pain, it was a scream of delight – my interpretation was he was celebrating.”

Metropolitan Police officer Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield was struck three times with the sword and suffered significant injuries as she pursued him through alleyways. He then burst into a property and attacked a couple as they lay in bed, while shouting: “Do you believe in God?”

After once again escaping, he struck inspector Moloy Campbell once with the sword before he was finally arrested.

Afterwards, he likened events to the Hollywood film The Hunger Games and claimed to have an alternative personality of a “professional assassin”.

In statements read to the court, Mr Iwule revealed he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks and is afraid to revisit the scene of the attack near Hainault station.

PC Mechem-Whitfield has undergone four operations but is still unable to return to her work as a police officer.

Inspector Campbell, who read a victim personal statement from the witness box, said the memory of hearing the radio transmission “police officer stabbed, police officer stabbed” still makes him shiver. He has not regained complete movement and feeling in his hand.

In his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Bennathan praised the bravery of the officers, adding: “All the police officers behaved with exemplary courage and put their lives on the line to protect the public they served.”

In a statement outside the Old Bailey after the sentence was handed down, Dr Anjorin and his wife, Grace Anjorin, said Daniel’s life had been taken in a way that “no family should have to endure”.

They added: “This has been a painful and deeply traumatic chapter in our lives. No verdict or sentence can bring back our son Daniel, but we are grateful that justice has been served.”

The Brazilian national had admitted to possessing two swords but insisted he had no memory of what happened and claimed his mental state had diminished his responsibility for the crimes.

Jurors at the Old Bailey this week found him guilty of murder, three counts of attempted murder, wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possessing a bladed article.

He was cleared of one count of attempted murder but found guilty of the lesser offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Giving evidence in his three-week trial, Monzo told jurors he believed the Earth was flat and the 9/11 terrorist attack in the United States was “probably” a conspiracy.

He said his views were largely formed after he visited India and started consuming the hallucinogenic tea, ayahuasca, and cannabis. But no trace of DMT – the class-A drug in the tea – was detected in his system.

Monzo, who liked to drink and wash in his own urine, described being bullied growing up in Brazil before his family moved to Britain in 2013.

More follows on this breaking news story…

New MI6 chief’s grandfather was Nazi spy

The new MI6 chief is reportedly the granddaughter of a Nazi spy known as the “butcher”, according to unearthed documents.

Blaise Metreweli made history as she was appointed as the first ever female head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 earlier this month.

But according to German archives, seen by the Daily Mail, her grandfather was Constantine Dobrowolski, a Nazi spy known as the “butcher”.

Mr Dobrowolski was a Ukrainian who reportedly defected from the Red Army to become the Nazi’s chief informant in the region of Chernihiv.

Ms Metreweli never met her grandfather as he stayed in Nazi-occupied Ukraine while his family fled the Red Army liberation of the region in 1943.

The documents held in Freiburg, Germany describe how Mr Dobrowolski was dubbed ‘Agent 30’ by his Nazi commanders.

Born to a German-Polish father and a Ukrainian mother in 1906, the Daily Mail reports he hated the Soviet Union when his family’s estate was seized after the 1917 revolution.

He joined the Nazis in 1941, and was paid a monthly wage of just 81 Reichsmark, around £250 today, for spying.

In letters to his Nazi officers, he signed off “Heil Hitler” and said he took part in a massacre of Jewish people near Kyiv.

The Daily Mail reported that there are also accounts of him looting the bodies of Holocaust victims and laughing at the sexual assault of female prisoners.

The Soviets put a 50,000-rouble – the equivalent of £200,000 today – bounty on Mr Dobrowolski and labelled him “the worst enemy of the Ukrainian people”.

He remained in Nazi-occupied Ukraine after his family fled the Soviet advance in 1943. The last record of him is from August 1943, a month before the Red Army took Chernihiv.

After the war, his wife, Barbara, and son, Constantine, arrived in Britain. Barbara remarried and Constantine – Ms Metreweli’s father – took his stepfather’s name. Neither he nor Ms Metreweli knew his father.

Ms Metreweli is a career intelligence officer, having joined the secret intelligence service in 1999, shortly after graduating from Pembroke College, Cambridge. Most of her career has been spent in operational roles in the Middle East and Europe.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesman said: “Blaise Metreweli neither knew nor met her paternal grandfather. Blaise’s ancestry is characterised by conflict and division and, as is the case for many with eastern European heritage, only partially understood.

“It is precisely this complex heritage which has contributed to her commitment to prevent conflict and protect the British public from modern threats from today’s hostile states, as the next chief of MI6.”

Starmer used to defend the kinds of protesters he now calls terrorists

Two days before the missiles started raining down on Baghdad in March 2003, Josh Richards packed a mixture of petrol and washing-up liquid into his rucksack and headed off to RAF Fairford base in Gloucestershire. His plan was to set fire to the wheels of a B-52 USAF bomber to prevent it from joining in the imminent shock and awe.

He was caught before he could act, but he was not the only person with the idea of mounting a last-ditch attempt to hinder a war which many considered illegal. A few days earlier, Margaret Jones and Paul Milling had cut their way into the same airbase and damaged a number of fuel tankers and bomb trailers. Another two men in their thirties, Philip Pritchard and Toby Olditch, armed themselves with paint, nuts and bolts, with the intention of damaging the bombers’ engines.

Today, this group of five would be labelled terrorists. See the government’s reaction last week when pro-Palestinian activists broke into RAF Brize Norton and – just like their earlier counterparts at Fairford – damaged two military planes with red paint. “A disgraceful act of vandalism,” said the prime minister, Keir Starmer.

Within days, home secretary Yvette Cooper was on her feet in the House of Commons announcing that the group involved, Palestine Action, would be added to the list of organisations proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000. If you dare donate so much as a fiver to it in future, you will be committing a crime.

Twenty-odd years ago, we lived in a kinder, gentler age. Society was not so harsh in its judgements about the group which became known as the Fairford Five. The protestors lawyered up and their briefs decided on an original defence, arguing that their actions were justified, morally and legally, because they were aimed at preventing a greater evil – ie the war in Iraq and its probable consequences. They were, in short, willing to commit crimes in order to prevent greater crimes.

Among the barristers who came up with this intriguing defence was a rising star of the human rights bar, Keir Starmer QC. He argued the case on behalf of Josh Richards, first at the Court of Appeal in June 2004 and then again before the House of Lords in March 2006. The presiding judge, Lord Bingham, went out of his way to praise the “erudition” involved.

The appeal did not totally succeed, but in his judgment Lord Hoffmann articulated a humane view of how, in the UK, he believed we have traditionally regarded such acts of protest.

“Civil disobedience on conscientious grounds has a long and honourable history in this country,” he wrote (at paragraph 89). “People who break the law to affirm their belief in the injustice of a law or government action are sometimes vindicated by history. The suffragettes are an example which comes immediately to mind. It is the mark of a civilised community that it can accommodate protests and demonstrations of this kind.”

Hoffman outlined the “conventions” he thought should govern such acts of civil disobedience in his “civilised community”. The law-breakers had to behave with a sense of proportion and avoid excessive damage. The law-enforcers, on the other hand, should “behave with restraint [and] … take the conscientious motives of the protesters into account”.

I imagine Mr Starmer QC read those words with some pleasure at the time: they have been quoted many times in courts over the years by his learned friends in defending clients acting on conscientious grounds.

But now, at the behest of his government, such people are to be defined as terrorists. Forget trying to understand their conscientious motives. Lock them up and ban them. What happened?

Let’s try some hypotheses.

The first possible explanation is that Starmer in 2004 was just operating on the “cab rank” principle. He didn’t actually believe all that stuff he argued in the posh courts: he was just making the best case he could. But one former Doughty Street Chambers colleague told me Starmer “totally” believed in the right to protest.

Some argue he is simply a massive hypocrite. He couldn’t care less that there’s a yawning gulf between what he then argued and what he now advocates. Or maybe he has just changed his mind? Perhaps he had some sympathy with the Fairford cause (Iraq) and less for the Brize Norton protests (Palestine)?

Perhaps he still holds the same views he expressed 20 years ago, but has been advised it would be politically unwise to voice them. Reform is storming ahead in the polls and is demanding tough action. Now is not the time to out yourself as a bleeding-heart liberal. So you can show your toughness by outlawing the very sort of people you once defended. And, while you’re about it, tell Glastonbury to drop another “terrorist” – in this case, the Irish language rap group Kneecap.

Or maybe he believes in nothing? That, after all, is what a significant slew of even his own backbenchers are coming to assume.

Twenty years ago, the public took a more forgiving view of protestors. Juries initially failed to agree on a verdict on charges against four of the Fairford defendants. Olditch and Pritchard were subsequently cleared of all charges after two trials. Josh Richards was also tried twice after admitting he wanted to set fire to a B-52 bomber. Twice, he walked free. Only Margaret Jones and Paul Milling were found guilty – at the second attempt – and were treated relatively leniently. Milling was given a conditional discharge and a £250 fine. Dr Jones was given a five-month curfew order.

So perhaps this explains what’s going on in Starmer’s mind. He, of all people, knows that juries are quite likely to side with conscientious protestors on an issue like Gaza. So it is cleaner simply to outlaw protest groups from the start. For someone who believes in the rule of law, it’s a clever way of getting around the rule of law.

“Yes, they should stand trial. Yes, they’ve committed criminal damage,” Baroness Helena Kennedy, a fellow civil rights lawyer told me. “But to label them terrorists seems extraordinary to me. It’s going down the old Trump road, and I don’t like it at all. There’s a sense in which you have a US government which has no respect for the rule of law and there’s now a kind of poison seeping into our own legal aquifer.”

As I write, another four protestors have been arrested by counter-terror police at Brize Norton. You can’t help wondering whether the concept of terrorism itself is being somewhat watered down by the Starmer government.

And you can’t help wonder at the philosophical somersaults taking place in Starmer’s mind as he stands everything he argued for 20 years ago on its head.

Driver who killed pensioner was inhaling nitrous oxide, court told

A driver who failed to stop when he killed an elderly cyclist after ignoring a red light at a pedestrian crossing was inhaling nitrous oxide from a balloon before and immediately after the fatal collision, a judge has heard.

Graham Slinn, 81, had dismounted and was walking across the A57 near Todwick, South Yorkshire, when he was hit by a Volkswagen Golf driven by Cain Byrne, 20, and thrown at least 15ft in the air, prosecutor Laura Marshall told Sheffield Crown Court.

Witnesses said Byrne, who has never held a driving licence, made no attempt to stop at the crossing and was travelling well over the 50mph limit, with one estimating his speed at 80mph.

He sped off after the collision on April 4, with dashcam footage showing his tyres smoking as he appeared to be trying to control the vehicle as he left the scene.

A montage of footage shown in the court on Friday showed the defendant inhaling nitrous oxide gas from a yellow balloon a number of times as he was driving, both before and after the collision with Mr Slinn.

One of these was just moments after he hit the pensioner.

Father-of-two Byrne, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and a number of other offences at a previous hearing.

He was due to be sentenced on Friday but, after hearing about his “astonishing and appalling” driving record, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC decided he wanted a report prepared by probation officers.

Ms Marshall told the judge that Byrne had a range of convictions for 27 offences, including dangerous driving, despite having no driving licence.

Rebecca Stephens, defending, told the court her client drove off because he believed he had only hit another vehicle with his wing mirror.

Judge Richardson responded to this claim, saying: “This shows how completely inebriated he was.”

Ms Stephens told the court that her client had written a letter expressing his remorse for what he had done.

She said Byrne had lost two brothers in traumatic circumstances: one in a car accident when he was 11; and the other being stabbed to death when he was 17.

Judge Richardson said he also accepted the defendant had a “very deprived background in every conceivable way”.

In a statement read to the judge on Friday, Mr Slinn’s wife, Jaqueline, described how she and her husband had been due to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this year.

Mrs Slinn explained how the couple met through a love of cycling and her husband had a life-long love of riding his bike, which he did multiple times a week, despite his age.

She said Mr Slinn worked as a scaffolder until he had to retire early following a heart attack, but he then helped care for adults with learning disabilities.

He was also a keen singer who would perform in pubs and clubs in Sheffield.

Mrs Slinn said: “60 years of marriage, almost, wiped out by the defendant”.

Judge Richardson remanded Byrne in custody, saying: “This young man is utterly, utterly out of control.”

Telling the defendant he will now be sentenced on July 21, he said: “For nearly 60 years Mr and Mrs Slinn lived thoroughly decent lives.

“I have heard quite a lot about Mr Slinn today and he seemed to have been a very good man.”

Judge Richardson told Byrne: “They were going to celebrate in the very near future their diamond wedding anniversary.

“That will not happen, and the reason that will not happen is because you drove a motor car when had no driving licence and had a truly astonishing and appalling driving record for someone aged 20 years.

“You drove that car with cloned licence plates at great speed, well in excess of the speed limit, on a dual carriageway, straight through a red light. And, you hit Mr Slinn as he was perfectly lawfully crossing the road.”

The judge described how Bryne drove off with him and two others in the car with him inhaling nirous oxide.

He said that, after killing Mr Slinn, he went about his business “as if you did not have a care in the world”.

Judge Richardson said: “You come from a disordered family. You have led a disordered life. You were, at the material time, completely out of control.”

He told him: “You are facing a very, very long time in custody, this case demands that.”

And he added: “This is about as bad as it gets”.

After his death in April, Mr Slinn’s family issued a statement through police which said: “He was gentle. Funny. Kind to his core. And now he’s gone.

“He and my mum were about to celebrate 60 years of marriage.

“Now she faces silence, heartbreak, and a future without the man who made her laugh every day.”

David Beckham in hospital as wife Victoria shares well wishes

David Beckham is in hospital with an unknown injury, with his wife Victoria by his bedside.

On Friday (27 June), the former Manchester United player, 50, was photographed by his wife, former Spice Girl singer Victoria, recovering in a hospital bed with one arm in a blue sling, smiling at the camera.

Posting the picture on Instagram, Victoria wrote: “Get well soon daddy.”

A second post picture showed David lying in bed wearing a beaded bracelet that spelt out the words: “Get well soon.”

While Victoria did not share any further details about David’s condition, several news outlets have speculated that Beckham has undergone surgery to treat a long-term wrist injury he sustained during his professional football career. The Independent has contacted his representatives for comment.

It comes after the former England captain received a knighthood for his services to sport and charity, after being named in the King’s Birthday Honours earlier this month.

Reacting to the news of his knighthood, David said in a statement that he “never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honour” while “growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British”.

His son Romeo, 22, reacted to the news online, telling his dad: “So so proud of you.”

Cruz, 20, also shared a tribute, posting a picture of David in the countryside and writing: “I’m so proud dad I love you. Sir David Beckham. Has a nice ring to it.”

Victoria recently poured cold water on rumours of a rift between the Beckham family and their eldest son, Brooklyn, after she shared pictures of the entire clan alongside their dad to mark Father’s Day earlier this month.

Recent reports have suggested a divide in the family after Brooklyn, 26, and his wife Nicola Peltz, 30, missed a recent run of family events, including David’s birthday party. The rest of their children – Romeo, Cruz, and Harper, 13 – were all in attendance.

Victoria presented a united front to mark Father’s Day on 15 June, sharing a video of David and Harper, Brooklyn and Cruz sitting arm-in-arm on a sofa, singing “Sherry” by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

David posted his own Father’s Day post, featuring a range of throwback pictures of the family, with the main photo showing Brooklyn holding Harper as a baby.

Sons Cruz and Romeo both shared warm messages under the post – but Brooklyn did not leave a comment.

Cruz wrote: “You mean the world to us and inspire us every single day dad I love you,” as Romeo said: “Love you always.”

The 7 best outdoor adventures in Sydney and New South Wales

Whether you’re lacing up your hiking boots, throwing on a wetsuit to catch some waves, or hitting the wide-open roads of New South Wales (NSW) by campervan, this Australian state is home to some of the country’s most exciting outdoor adventures – all easily accessible thanks to Qantas’ extensive domestic network.

Flying into Sydney with Qantas is the ideal way to experience a slice of Australia before you’ve even landed. And with onboard wellbeing perks, plus the option to book more discounted domestic legs using Qantas Explorer, it really is the savvy traveller’s best way to explore Australia.

Here are seven next-level outdoor adventures in NSW, and the best way to get there.

Sydney might be a modern metropolis, but it’s also home to an extraordinary natural playground, the star attraction of which is Sydney Harbour National Park. This protected area weaves through the city’s coastline, offering walking trails, secluded beaches, and panoramic views that blend wild bushland with iconic urban landmarks. Away from the National Park, you can paddle a kayak at dawn beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge, go on a cycle tour and sunset cruise around Manly and North Heads coastal cliffs, or follow the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk for sweeping ocean views and refreshing swim spots.

Just a 90-minute trip from Sydney by road, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains is an endless landscape of towering eucalyptus forests and striking sandstone cliffs as far as the eye can see. There are few places quite as grand as this so close to a city. Don your hiking boots and traverse spectacular scenery to Wentworth Falls or take on the Grand Canyon Track – a 6km loop of dramatic cliffs, fern-fringed valleys and thundering waterfalls with lookouts to match. If you’re an early riser, watch the sunrise at Echo Point, where the Three Sisters rock formation is lit up by the glow of first light.

Wildlife lovers need to head north to Port Macquarie for some of the best marine encounters on the east coast. Humpback whales are almost guaranteed from May to November, and dolphins can be spotted all year round. For front-row views, jump on a whale-watching cruise, or pitch up with a picnic on a headland and watch the breaching giants from afar.

Swap the sandy beaches for subtropical rainforest in Coffs Harbour’s hinterland in Dorrigo National Park, where winding roads serpentine through flourishing banana plantations, dense palm-filled forest and endless rolling hills. The region’s cycling trails range from casual loops to more challenging rides with jaw-to-the-floor sea views.

Aussies love their surfing, and Byron Bay is the epitome of surf culture Down Under, with beaches to suit all skill levels; from the gentle swell at The Pass to barrel-laden breaks at Tallows. If you’ve got any stamina left, soak up the view from Cape Byron Lighthouse post-surf – the easternmost point of mainland Australia.

With over 8,000 islands to its name, Australia offers the ultimate in island adventures. Lord Howe is one of them, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed pristine island, where only 400 visitors are allowed at any one time. You’ll find rare birds, kaleidoscopic coral reefs, and Mount Gower, offering one of the best day hikes in the country, with epic coastline views and dizzying drops.

For those who need more than a beach stroll to get the heart pumping, grab a kayak and explore the Sapphire Coast from the water in Merimbula. Glide over crystal-clear waters, past secluded coves, pristine beaches, and the untouched beauty of surrounding national parks. Keep an eye out for dolphins and other marine life as you paddle. Once back on shore, refuel with the region’s famous fresh oysters and enjoy a refreshing dip at Bar Beach.

Book your flight to Sydney today at qantas.com and start your Australian adventure.

Britain’s stranded F-35 fighter jet is a test of its trust in India

As the HMS Prince of Wales and the rest of its carrier strike group docked in Singapore on Thursday, analysts noted that it arrived with an odd number of 11 F-35B fighter jets on its flight deck.

That’s because one was missing: F-35B Lightning number 034 that has been stranded for almost two weeks now at an airport in southern India. The state-of-the-art stealth fighter got caught out by bad weather during a sortie in the Indian ocean and requested an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, where it has been stuck ever since due to an engineering issue.

Built by the American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, the F-35B Lightning is one of the most advanced fighters on the planet, and is brimming with technology that India does not – yet – have access to.

British officials told The Independent they have no concerns about espionage and are grateful to their Indian allies for keeping the jet safe while it awaits essential repairs by a specialist team due to be flown out from the UK.

But analysts say that with each passing day that the jet sits disabled on foreign soil questions over what has gone wrong, and whether any third party might try to access the aircraft, will only grow louder.

Photos shared on social media have shown the lone fighter jet stationed on the tarmac with personnel from India’s Central Industrial Security Force – a branch of the military tasked with guarding key infrastructure – guarding the jet round the clock, which is sitting parked in the open amid monsoon rains near the domestic terminal.

“Surprised that a team of flight mechanics with spare parts hasn’t been flown in to fix it. Must be a bigger problem than we thought,” said Nicholas Drummond, former British Army officer and defence industry analyst, reacting to a photo of the fighter jet parked at the Indian airport, reading “034 he so lonely”.

A Royal Navy spokesperson rejected Indian media reports that suggested the jet had not been moved to a closed hangar because Britain does not trust India to keep it safe and untampered-with. They suggested this would have been done already had the necessary equipment and expertise been on hand.

“To minimise disruptions to the regular airport operations, the aircraft will be moved to a space in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility hangar once specialist equipment and UK engineering teams arrive,” a Royal Navy spokesperson told The Independent.

The Independent has reached out to the Indian Air Force’s Southern Air Command for a comment on the security measures being taken to guard the prestigious fighter plane.

Mark Martin, an aviation expert, has said a warplane parked in the open cannot be tampered with, easing the security concerns around the stranded F-35B.

“The F-35B is in the public eye, most likely disabled from the inside and out in the open as the UK has their own satellites which help them in monitoring the aircraft through their satellites. So if anyone even comes near this, the UK will be the first to know,” he told The Independent.

Mr Martin also noted the defence treaty that the UK has with India that means both countries are obligated to protect each other’s assets in such circumstances.

“It’s most likely that if the aircraft is disabled, the Royal Air Force may send over a C-17 Globemaster or a heavy lift transport aircraft, and the aircraft will be loaded and flown back,” he said. “Because they can’t repair it in this part of the world.”

Dr Sameer Patil, director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai, said the biggest danger stemming from the episode would be how it is perceived – both by allies Britain and India and their adversaries.

“As the UK waits for a detailed inspection of its aircraft, the optics of a stranded jet on a close ally’s soil are not looking good as it is giving way to rumours and speculations about Indians getting access to some of the classified technology – which is absolutely not true and not in the spirit of the UK-India strategic defence partnership,” he said.

“The thing I’m more worried about in the end will not be about the espionage or about dealing with the classified technology, but it will be about creating the risk and the distrust between the two partners which can be exploited by adversaries like China and Iran for their own advantage,” Dr Patil told The Independent.

In a show of solidarity, the Royal Navy spokesperson thanked the Indian side for their logistical and security support. “The safe landing, logistics and continuing security and organisational support provided by India in responding to this situation further demonstrates the close coordination and deepening relationship that exists between the Armed Forces of the UK and India,” they said.

Gavin Newsom files $787m defamation suit alleging Fox lied about Trump call

Gavin Newsom filed suit against Fox News on Friday, accusing the conservative cable giant of defaming him with its coverage of his phone call with President Donald Trump earlier this month amid the Los Angeles protests over Trump’s immigration crackdown and federalization of the National Guard.

The California governor is seeking at least $787 million in damages and a court order prohibiting the network from airing any additional segments that falsely claim that he lied about the call with the president, which took place on June 7.

The punitive damages sought by Newsom are nearly identical to the amount that Fox paid to Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 to settle a defamation suit over election conspiracies broadcast by the network.

“If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences — just like it did in the Dominion case,” Newsom said in a statement. “Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine.”

The Independent has reached out to Fox News for comment.

The Democratic governor, meanwhile, appears to be taking a page out of Trump’s playbook with his legal complaint against the MAGA cable news channel. The president is currently suing CBS News for $20 billion over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which is increasingly looking like it will be settled despite its lack of merit as the network’s parent company Paramount looks to complete a media merger that requires the Trump administration’s approval.

Trump, who has seen other news organizations settle with him in recent months, also recently threatened to sue CNN and The New York Times over their reports on an early intelligence assessment that indicates the US military strikes on Iran may have only set back the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear program a few months.

The lawsuit hinges largely on a segment hosted by Fox News primetime host Jesse Watters, who accused the governor — and likely Democratic presidential candidate — of lying over the description and timeline of a call with Trump. Newsom’s legal team sent the network a letter demanding a formal on-air apology and a retraction from Watters, noting that if those conditions are met, the governor will drop the lawsuit.

As demonstrations broke out in Los Angeles earlier this month over the administration’s aggressive ICE raids, Newsom and Trump spoke on the phone late in the evening on June 6 on the West Coast, which would have been early in the morning on June 7 for the president in Washington, D.C. Later that weekend, Newsom told NBC News about the call, labeling it as largely cordial.

During a press conference in the Oval Office on June 10, the president asserted that he had spoken with the governor “a day ago” and told him to “do a better job,” a claim Newsom immediately refuted. “There was no call. Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to,” the governor said on social media.

Newsom’s office would also clarify that the governor was specifically denying the president’s assertion that a call had taken place the previous day, noting that the last time the two leaders had spoken was the June 6 conversation.

Meanwhile, Trump would provide screenshots to Fox News anchor John Roberts as “receipts” of their phone call, which only proved Newsom’s original point that they had last spoken over the weekend and not “a day ago.” Watters, however, would later dishonestly spin during his primetime broadcast later that night.

“Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him? Why would he do that?!” Watters declared while an on-air graphic blared “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.” The pro-Trump host would go on to accuse Newsom of claiming “Trump never called him” before airing an edited clip that left out the president’s saying the call took place “a day ago.”

“It is perhaps unsurprising that a near-octogenarian with a history of delusionary public statements and unhinged late-night social media screeds might confuse the dates,” Newsom’s attorney Mark Bankston —who represented the Sandy Hook families in their lawsuit against conspiracist Alex Jones — wrote to Fox News in a letter. “But Fox’s decision to cover up for President Trump’s error cannot be so easily dismissed.”