Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Dentist who threatened to kill Labour MP detained

The accused had a grudge after being permanently banned by the General Dental Council in 2021 following a misconduct investigation

Dentist who threatened to kill Labour MP detained

A dentist who had tweeted that he would kill his local MP has been detained in hospital, according to media reports.

Amit Kerai, 34, had during a four-year campaign of harassment tweeted that Brent North MP Barry Gardiner would be "stabbed, shot, beheaded".


Kerai appeared at the Old Bailey court by video link from a secure mental health unit on Thursday (23) and pleaded guilty to making the threat in August 2022.

He threatened Gardiner after contacting the MP’s office on Aug 4, 2022, The Telegraph reports.

He reportedly had a grudge after being permanently banned by the General Dental Council in 2021 following a misconduct investigation, The Standard reports.

In a victim impact statement read in court, Gardiner said he was "aware members of parliament are increasingly being threatened and two of my colleagues have been murdered in the course of their work".

He was referring to the killing of two Labour MPs - Jo Cox in 2016 and Sir David Amess in 2021.

The Labour Party MP felt the legislators were offered poor security, but clarified that he would continue to be accessible to his constituents.

Gardiner said he still takes public transport and attends public meetings, but felt that being an MP "places a much greater strain on my staff and family than when I began in Parliament 25 years ago."

Kerai was sentenced on Thursday to indefinite detention in a secure hospital under section 37 of the Mental Health Act, as well as a restraining order, BBC reports.

The court heard he was a cannabis and cocaine user and is taking anti-psychotic medication to treat a “persistent delusional disorder”.

Two more charges

Kerai also admitted to two charges of putting other people in fear of violence by harassment with abusive and threatening emails, tweets, and telephone calls between 2019 and 2022.

Fellow dentist Keith Percival, from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight dental council, was a victim of his hate campaign.

He and his daughter, Emily Vidovic, who had an administrative role in the same organisation, were threatened by Kerai.

The court heard Kerai sent graphic unsolicited images of the war in Ukraine, as well as pornographic pictures together with lurid false allegations about the victims.

More For You

Imran Khan

The announcement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, prepares for nationwide protests on August 5, marking two years since his arrest.

Getty Images

Pakistan announces new paramilitary force ahead of PTI protests

PAKISTAN has announced the creation of a new national paramilitary force, raising concerns among opposition parties and human rights groups about its possible use for political repression.

The new force will be called the Federal Constabulary and will be formed by restructuring an existing paramilitary unit currently operating along the northwestern border with Afghanistan, state minister for the Interior Talal Chaudhry said at a press conference in Faisalabad on Monday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Altaf Hussain

Hussain has been living in London since 1992 and holds British citizenship. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Founder of Pakistan's MQM Altaf Hussain hospitalised in London

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain has been hospitalised in London after falling seriously ill, according to a party official.

Hussain, 71, was admitted to a hospital on Thursday due to a severe illness, where doctors carried out various tests, Mustafa Azizabadi, Convener of MQM’s Central Coordination Committee, said on social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
Communities face 'powder keg' of unrest risk, report warns

Social media emerged as a significant threat to community cohesion, the British Future report said. (Photo: Getty Images)

Communities face 'powder keg' of unrest risk, report warns

COMMUNITIES remain at risk of fresh unrest unless urgent action is taken to address deep-seated social tensions, a new report, published one year after last summer's riots, has cautioned.

Titled 'The State of Us' by British Future thinktank and the Belong Network, the report published on Tuesday (15) said successive governments have failed to take action and warned that a "powder keg" of unresolved grievances could easily ignite again without immediate intervention.

Keep ReadingShow less
Metropolitan police

The Metropolitan Police said the sentencing followed a 'comprehensive operation'. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Gang jailed for stealing £1 million jewellery from London’s Indian community

FOUR members of an organised crime network that stole more than £1 million worth of jewellery from Indian and South Asian families in London have been sentenced to a total of 17 years and one month in prison.

The Metropolitan Police said the sentencing followed a “comprehensive operation” that led to the imprisonment of Jerry O’Donnell, 33, Barney Maloney, Quey Adger, 23, and Patrick Ward, 43. All four were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday after previously pleading guilty to burglary.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

After report of CAA warning on Boeing fuel switches, regulator issues clarification

FOUR weeks before an Air India Boeing 787-8 crashed after takeoff from Ahmedabad, media reports cited a safety notice issued by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) highlighting potential issues with fuel control switches on Boeing aircraft.

The CAA has now clarified that the safety notice in question — Safety Notice Number SN-2015/005 — was originally issued in 2015. The document was updated on 15 May 2025 only to change the contact email address. This routine administrative update caused the document to appear on the CAA website as if it were newly issued.

Keep ReadingShow less