Fatal Injection: The unreported killing of Gary Fairfax

On 26 September 2017 the emergency services were called to a flat in Oaks Lane, Ilford. Paramedics arrived to find a 59-year-old man, Gary Fairfax, had apparently taken an overdose of heroin. His death was one of 1,164 due to heroin and morphine in England and Wales that year. Like… You must be a paid …

Unsolved murders in London 1997-2018

Earlier this year the Metropolitan Police released figures showing there were a total of 393 unsolved murders between 1997 and 2018 (or using their definition, ‘undetected’). The number of undetected murders peaked in around 2001 before decreasing to single figures between 2011 and 2015, then increasing again to a new peak in 2018. The percentage …

The First Railway Murder: Thomas Briggs

In 1864 Thomas Briggs, a 69 year-old banker, became the first person to be murdered on the railway in Britain. The case was an instant sensation in the press and played into fears about the speed of change taking place across the country in the Victorian era. It began as… You must be a paid …

The Assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval

Only one British Prime Minister has ever been assassinated. Spencer Perceval was shot in the Palace of Westminster in 1812 after serving just three years in office. During that time he presided over an unstable government, a financial crisis and a series of setbacks in the Napoleonic wars. But it… You must be a paid …