Police step up hunt for London alkaline attack suspect after mother and children injured

Police have stepped up their search for the suspect in an alkaline attack in south London which left a mother with “life-changing” injuries, offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information leading to his arrest.

Detectives have urged Afghanistan-born Abdul Ezedi, who is described as having very "significant injuries to the right side of his face", to hand himself in after going on the run following Wednesday's attack in Clapham.

The 31-year-old mother, believed to be known to Ezedi, was attacked with a corrosive alkaline substance and remains "very poorly" and sedated in hospital, with life-changing injuries.

Injuries to her daughters, aged three and eight, are "not likely to be life-changing".

"Significant and important pieces of evidence" were recovered in raids at two addresses in east London and three in Newcastle, police said.

They include empty containers with corrosive warnings, which have been shown in new footage released by detectives.

Forensic tests to see if the containers held the substance used in the attack are continuing.

Police on Sunday said analysis revealed it was highly corrosive.

"The liquid used in the attack was a very strong, concentrated, corrosive substance, either liquid sodium hydroxide or liquid sodium carbonate," Met Police Commander Jon Savell said.

"Further enquiries are ongoing including comparison with the containers seized from Ezedi's address in Newcastle."

The force said it had new information on his movements, including that the last sighting of him was at 9.33pm at Tower Hill Underground station in east London on January 31, shortly after the attack in Clapham.

Previous sightings placed him at King's Cross Station about 9pm on the same day and police said he boarded a Victoria Line train to Victoria Station, arriving at 9.10pm.

He then boarded an eastbound District Line train to Tower Hill at 9.16pm.

Mr Savell said: "I can assure the public that my colleagues and I are fully committed to using every available tool and tactic for as long as it takes to find Abdul Ezedi.

"I would also like to reiterate that if you see Ezedi, you should call 999 immediately. He should not be approached."

Asylum status in spotlight

Questions remain over how the suspect has been able to stay in the country despite being convicted of a sexual offence.

Afghanistan-born Abdul Ezedi, 35, who lives in the Newcastle area of north-east England, was granted asylum in the UK after two failed applications and despite being convicted in 2018, two years after his arrival.

He converted to Christianity shortly before his successful asylum claim.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, former home secretary Suella Braverman said she became aware of “churches around the country facilitating industrial-scale bogus asylum claims” during her time in office.

“They are well-known within the migrant communities and, upon arrival in the UK, migrants are directed to these churches as a one-stop shop to bolster their asylum case,” she wrote.

“Attend Mass once a week for a few months, befriend the vicar, get your baptism date in the diary and, bingo, you’ll be signed off by a member of the clergy that you’re now a God-fearing Christian who will face certain persecution if removed to your Islamic country of origin.

“It has to stop.”

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme "we need to get to the bottom of" why Ezedi had been able to remain in Britain, indicating his status will be looked into by the Home Office.

Asked how it was possible the suspect had been granted asylum after being found guilty of a sexual offence, Mrs Keegan said: "I think that is something that more than one person is asking.

"My understanding is the Home Secretary has asked for all the details but this is not really about asylum," she added, before going on to talk about the victims and others affected by the attack.

"Clearly, what we say is that anybody who commits crimes is not able to stay in this country. So, if you have a sentence of more than 12 months, you are not allowed to stay if you have a criminal record, etc.

"We don't want to have people in this country who have criminal records."

The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle said it had found nothing to suggest Ezedi had converted to Catholicism but checks were continuing.

A statement read: "Our thoughts and prayers are first and foremost with the victims of this appalling attack in south London."

The diocese confirmed Ezedi "visited our diocesan Justice and Peace Refugee Project, a charitable venture which assists a wide range of people who come to us in need".

It added: "After checking local parish records and central records and after consulting with clergy we have no indication that Abdul Ezedi was received into the Catholic faith in this diocese or that a Catholic priest of this diocese gave him a reference.

"We do not know which Christian church received him nor which Christian minister gave him a reference."

The project website says it gives food, toiletries and clothes to vulnerable people.

It does not get involved with any asylum claims clients may be pursuing, it is understood.

Ezedi reportedly visited it recently.

The Church of England said it was not aware of any links to its churches, with a representative adding it is "the role of the Home Office, and not the church, to vet asylum seekers and judge the merits of their individual cases".

The case has echoes of that of Iraqi-born Emad Al Swealmeen, 32, who in November 2021 was killed in an explosion and subsequent fire after his home-made bomb detonated in a taxi outside Liverpool Women's Hospital.

He had also claimed to be a Christian convert to support his asylum claim.