LATEST UPDATE
9th November - Morning
Please find below an open letter to all residents including details of two public meetings to take place on Monday 9th November.
Dear Resident,
RE: Online Public Meeting with Merton Police - Monday 9th November
I am writing following two extremely worrying incidents in our community this week.
A man has been charged following the truly awful attack that occurred on a young girl on her way to school in Mitcham on Tuesday. All our thoughts remain with the young victim. My heart goes out to her. I know everyone in our community shares my gratitude for the courage and bravery of the witness who followed and for the hard work of the police working on this case.
I am horrified to hear of further reports of a different man approaching a young boy on Wednesday morning in Colliers Wood. I have been in immediate contact with the police who are investigating, and my thoughts are with the young boy and his family who faced the worst fears of any parent.
These incidents have understandably shaken our community.
And so I have urgently arranged two public meetings on Monday at 2pm and 6pm. Police Inspector Bob Whitehead will be joining the meeting along with representatives from Merton Council to provide updates and answer any of our questions and concerns. The meetings will be held on Zoom, but you do not need a Zoom account to join. Just click the link below in time for the start time of the meeting and, when prompted, type in the password. You will automatically join a waiting room and be admitted as soon as the meeting begins.
Meeting Links:
2pm link: https://parliament-uk.zoom.us/j/64735958980
Meeting ID: 647 3595 8980
Passcode: 744697
6pm link: https://parliament-uk.zoom.us/j/64407301585
Meeting ID: 644 0730 1585
Passcode: 232087
I appreciate the short notice of these meetings but given the importance of this discussion I did not want to delay. I would be very grateful if you could help share the links with your friends, family and neighbours so that everybody in our local community has the chance to join.
As ever, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time at siobhain.mcdonagh.mp@parliament.uk.
I look forward to seeing you on Monday.
My best wishes,
Siobhain McDonagh
P.S. Please do join one of the public meetings on Monday and share the details with your family, friends and neighbours so that everyone has the chance to join. Thank you.
5th November - Morning
I'm pleased to report that a man has this morning been charged following the truly awful attack that occurred in Mitcham on Tuesday.
All our thoughts remain with the young victim. My heart goes out to her.
I know everyone in our community shares my gratitude for the courage and bravery of the witness and for the hard work of the police working on this case.
If anyone would like to contact me regarding this, my email address is siobhain.mcdonagh.mp@parliament.uk
3rd November - Afternoon
My heart goes out to the young girl who was abducted in Mitcham on her way to school this morning. The extraordinary bravery of a lady who followed and filmed them has almost certainly saved the victim from even further distress and has provided the police with extremely important evidence for what I sincerely hope will be the swift apprehension and the early arrest of the attacker.
I am in regular, direct contact with the local police who, thanks to the great assistance of information from the people of Mitcham, are hopeful of catching him very soon. After his arrest, we must investigate how this was able to happen and I will continue to support in any and every way I can.
If you witnessed anything or have information that could assist the police, please call 101 and quote the crime reference CAD V184/20. Alternatively, you can tweet @MetCC, or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
If anyone would like to contact me about this truly horrible incident, my email address is siobhain.mcdonagh.mp@parliament.uk