Uxbridge Road stabbings: bad reporting of bad news

Most of you I think will be aware of the stabbings that took place seemingly up and down the Uxbridge Road over the christmas period. Nobody died thankfully, and it is thought that the incidents were not gang related.

At the time, like most of you, I was concentrating on family things and didn't really have the time to look properly in to what had actually happened and what the consequences might be. Although I did see a great deal of reporting and comment from breathless local journalists and politicians keen to get their comment in on the matter, even before the dust had settled and the actual facts were clear.

For me, just like this incident last summer when local residents effectively used this blog as a means of finding out what had actually happened in the absence of any media reporting or police statements, this latest violence to scar the Bush asked some pretty important questions about what sort of area the Bush is going to be like in a few years time. We don't sit that far from affluent areas like Holland Park - but we're also not that far from areas like Harlesden.

So we are not helped when one local online advertiser-led news site gave their report, as dramatically as they could possibly have written it, complete with only a statement from one of the candidates vying to be our MP at the next general election. The whole report made the Bush seem more like Harlesden than Holland Park, and actually I don't think that's a fair reflection at all.

Other more professional local media, such as the Fulham Chronicle, didn't seem to experience a problem with reporting these incidents in a balanced and fair way. So there really is no excuse.

But we do clearly have a growing problem, in common with the rest of London, of kids carrying knives. Every now and again I get comments sent to this blog by one or other gang threatening each other with violence. It reads as pretty scary stuff but the reality is that its probably some teenager sat on their own in some internet cafe.

For the sake of clarity I have reproduced the actual facts of what happened in December, which I have received from Shepherd's Bush Police, below. What I would ask those who seek to serve our area with news is for more accuracy, more responsibility and less drama. It doesn't help to make the Bush appear worse than it actually is.

For the record here are the facts:

Police were called to reports of one incident on the Uxbridge Road, W12 on the 25th December and three incidents on the 27th December during which the victims received superficial stab wounds.

The three incidents on Sunday 27th December are being treated as linked.  They are not considered to be gang related.

Superintendent William Lyle said:  "We are working in partnership with the local authority, local residents, business community and community leaders to ensure all appropriate steps are taken to prevent any further offences and to reassure our local community. We are providing continued reassurance patrols and our officers continue to speak to the community on a daily basis".

Details of incidents

• At 23.40 on Friday 25th December police were called to reports of a man suffering with cuts to his head and two possible stab wounds to his back on the Uxbridge Road, junction with Warbeck Road .  The victim, a black man aged 24, attended hospital for treatment and was subsequently discharged.  It is believed he was attacked by six men.  The victim has not substantiated the allegation.


• At 00.45 on Sunday 27th December police were called to reports of a man suffering from a stab wound in the buttocks on the Uxbridge Road, W12.  The victim, a black man aged 21, is believed to have been stabbed as a result of an altercation with two black men.  The victim has not substantiated the allegation.


• At 00.55 on Sunday 27th December police were called to a man suffering with a stab wound to the abdomen in Uxbridge Road opposite the junction with Askhan Road.  The victim, a black man aged 19, is believed to have received the wound as a result of an altercation with one man.  The victim has not substantiated the allegation.


• At 01.05 on Sunday 27th December police were called to Ealing hospital regarding two men who had attended for treatment to stab wounds.  The first man, aged 20, had a stab wound in the back.  The second man, aged 18, had stab wounds to the leg and buttocks.  It is believed these were the result of an altercation on the Uxbridge Road, W12.  The victims refused to substantiate the allegation.