Quick to react to this shocking news. Rishi sunak says this is a shocking incident. His thoughts are with those affected , their are with those affected, their families. He goes on to say, id like to thank the Emergency Services for their ongoing response. Pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery shown by the police on the scene. Such violence has no place on our streets. Weve also heard from the local mp wes streeting , the local mp wes streeting, whos also expressed his concern. Yes, wes streeting says a Critical Incident has been declared in hainault. There are station and road closures in place. The police, Ambulance Service and fire brigade are responding. One male has been detained. I would urge people detained. I would urge people not to speculate until details are confirmed or post footage on social media. Well, replying to that or really emphasising that on twitter , keir starmer, the on twitter, keir starmer, the leader of the opposition, has said awful news coming from hainault. Our thoughts are with the victims. Thank full for the First Responders on the scene and the mayor of london, we should say sadiq khan. Should say sadiq khan. He says hes absolutely devastated by the news from hainault this morning. He says he remains in Constant Contact with the commission. He goes on to reiterate what we know that a man has been arrested, the area is secured, he says the police are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident. So itll be very interesting to hear if theres been any update on that from the police. When we hear, in just a few moments, certainly it does seem that many people are across it. The home secretary, James Cleverly, has said that he is in contact with the police and the local mp, who also happens to be the Shadow Health secretary. Wes streeting, has said hes in contact with the met police, the mayor of london and redbridge council, two two, so we are expecting that press conference, as we say, it was due to start at midday, but its clearly running a little bit late, we can go to our gb news home and security editor mark white, as we wait for this press conference, mark, what do you expect might be said by the police in just a few moments . Time well, clearly, upper most in the concern of most people is the concern of most people is the condition of those injured who were taken to hospital. Five people treated by paramedics at the scene, all five taken to hospital , clearly, people that hospital, clearly, people that were attacked by the Samurai Sword we saw in the video there that huge weapon being carried by who we believe to be the suspect wearing that yellow top in the minutes before he was arrested. I have an update, actually, on this statement. Were told that it has been delayed. May have been delayed by p delayed. May have been delayed by up to 30 minutes. Were expecting to hear from chief superintendent stuart bell, who is the borough commander, the local area commander in that area around hainault. So he is going to give us that update. It may be that hes receiving more in the way of information and updates on the conditions of those who have been injured, but whatever the reason behind it, that statement that was due at the top of 12 00 has now been just pushed back a little bit towards 12 30, but clearly lots of people very concerned about this incident that unfolded just before 7 00 this morning, with the metropolitan police confirming that it was a999 call, that they responded to reports of a vehicle having been dnven reports of a vehicle having been driven into a house in this area not far from , hainault tube not far from, hainault tube station. Indeed, there are images that show what appears to be a black, people carrier with significant damage to the front of that vehicle. Whether that was the vehicle that was driven at the houses , we dont know, at the houses, we dont know, but it is, logical, perhaps , to but it is, logical, perhaps, to conclude that given that its taped off around the scene there, and in the minutes after Police Arrived to reports as well, that people had been stabbed at the scene, the police said that the alleged attacker had gone to on injure or stab other people, other members of the public in that area. And of course, we know that two Police Officers who pushed forward, who attempted to arrest this man were injured as well. So, see, were injured as well. So, see, we dont know. At this stage, the extent of the injuries of those officers or indeed the three members of the public, but that hopefully from chief superintendent stuart bell, may be forthcoming when he gives this news conference, in about, 20 odd minutes from now. And mark, im just reading here, that knife crime has increased by 20 in london in the year to december. We had 14,626 recorded offences last year , is it fair to say knife year, is it fair to say knife crime is out of control in our capital. 7 well well, certainly. Knife related offences in terms of injuries, including , homicides, injuries, including, homicides, have in increased homicides amongst young people in particular. Knife crime is up, but not just in london. It is a significant problem , in urban significant problem, in urban population centres right across the uk, it has become routine and habit for a lot of young people to carry these bladed weapons. And if you ask them why, they tell you often that its for protection. But the dangeris its for protection. But the danger is in carrying a weapon, you get into an argument and people will pull out that weapon. It injures people and then, of course, other people armed with weapons are fighting them back. It is, you know, a very dangerous tactic to take a weapon and think that youre protecting yourself. It can actually exacerbate the situation , of course, and there situation, of course, and there is another issue, which isnt just the carrying of weapons, but the carrying of these very large, often ceremonial weapons as, Samurai Swords would be included in this as this suspect appeared to have been carrying, also zombie knives and machetes, theyre easily purchased still to this day on the internet , to this day on the internet, people collecting them, buying them and seeing theyre collectors items. This government, successive ministers , have tried to push through legislation to tighten that that particular loophole. They are, they say, doing that to ensure that these very dangerous weapons are outlawed or, made virtually, as they hope, impossible for people to get a hold of, certainly over the internet. But as you can imagine, a large Samurai Sword, a machete and a like can do so much more damage than these knives that people will often just take from the kitchen drawer, which are deadly enough. Well, mark, thank you very much for bringing us the very latest there. Were hearing that this press conference has now been brought forward by ten minutes. So 1220 is when were expecting this press conference. So in just over ten minutes time. But joining us now is the former Police OfficerNorman Brennan. And norman one of the most striking elements of this story today is those two Police Officers who were injured, who intervened, who ran towards danger instead of away from it. Their heroism is clearly at the centre of this story today. Centre of this story today. Youre absolutely i mean, i think the first thing to say is that all our thoughts foremost must be with the five injured people. Were going to give an update in a few minutes time as to the extent of their injuries. And youre absolutely right, two of my own police family, i was a Police Officer for 31 years, and im probably britains leading law and order campaigner on knife crime , but ive been knife crime, but ive been talking about this for 35 years, so many families have lost their lives, mothers are planning funerals instead of futures. And getting back to your point, youre absolutely right. Its Police Officers, predominantly unarmed Police Officers that will, be turning up, first of all, to these incidents. Although it depends on what type of call the police receive. Norman, just on that, just on that point, is there an argument considering shocking scenes like this for more Police Officers to be armed. 7 well, im an advocate be armed . Well, im an advocate of, fully arming of the British Police service, something ive spoken about for 30 years, i dont know whether todays the right day to be discussing that, but we really need to find out the extent of the injuries and the extent of the injuries and the full circumstances. But, the full circumstances. But, yes, the streets of london and the streets of britain, in my 45, 46 years of policing and law and order have never been so dangerous. Knife crime is an epidemic stage. Ive never seen so many stabbings. Ive never seen so many murders. Ive never seen so many murders. Ive never seen so many children use carrying knives. And yes , they carrying knives. And yes, they carrying knives. And yes, they carry them for self defence. They also carry them to commit crime. Neither are acceptable. Crime. Neither are acceptable. And we are seeing the devastation of those that carry knives. And again, weve heard knives. And again, weve heard about machetes. Look, we deal with too much froth banning machetes. There you can buy a machete, you can go to a hunting shop, you can buy them online. You can stop people buying them. But lets get back to the crux of the matter. If we had a five year mandate, prison sentence implied on our criminal Justice System, i promise you this. And ive said it for 30 years, it will dramatically reduce those that carry, knife and carry and commit knife crime murders these parents. How many more parents are we going to have to tell . Im sorry your child wont be coming home today. We were just reporting yesterday on this show, two men trapped inside a shop in birmingham , the shopkeeper, birmingham, the shopkeeper, thankfully, had escaped and was barricaded them inside the shop. They were wielding machetes. The they were wielding machetes. The knives are not only dangerous, a kitchen knife is dangerous enough, let alone these huge, huge , vicious looking weapons. Huge, vicious looking weapons. I saw the incident myself. I see them day in and day out. Shopkeepers across britain, god bless them, they do their best to, give their community a service. And sadly, there are service. And sadly, there are some within those communities and outside the communities that think its okay to come along with a knife or machete and rob them and sometimes maim or kill them and sometimes maim or kill them , as i say, i, ive actually them, as i say, i, ive actually been trying to tell britain for 35 years, 15 of them, when i was a serving Police Officer, that the streets of britain are going to become unsafe, that the pubuc to become unsafe, that the public will fear walking the streets. They will fear streets. They will fear travelling on transport and they will time when and where they go out. Many people now wont even go into london. London is lawless. Im not saying every single street is lawless, but london is deemed as lawless because people carry knives, they carry machetes, they rob and attack people, they rob rolex watches. So people now dont travel to london and wear their watches that many have worked hard for. I have never seen the criminal Justice System in britain in such chaos , and in britain in such chaos, and there isnt a particular offence. Be it stalking, robbery, burglary , you name the robbery, burglary, you name the crime that is not out of control. And when we look to our criminal Justice System, to protect them, the public dont see the police. The criminal Justice System dont protect the police and the public and victims by giving deterrent sentences. And im afraid we see scenes like this today that most people just think , oh, ive just people just think, oh, ive just got to accept it because i dont believe anything will change. Well, when youve got an attitude like that and a criminal Justice System that fails us all, were basically on the brink of anarchy. Theres also a crisis in the metropolitan police. Its the only police force in england that has failed to meet recruitment targets. Its also a police force where weve seen armed officers actually choosing to give up their weapons, give back their weapons. Fewer armed officers now than we had before, because those who do carry weapons are dragged through the mill even when they use them appropriately. For many, its just not worth the risk. Youre absolutely right. I youre absolutely right. I speak to serving officers every day, out of the recent 20,000 Police Officers that were rerecruited from the 22,000 officers that were taken away under theresa may and David Cameron, almost 5000 have resigned. Officers are telling me now that they do not want to carry out, stop and search for. The simple reason is they wont be backed by their bosses. They wont be backed by the courts and they are thrown under the wheels of a bus. Because if they get a controversial complaint and by golly, ive stopped people with knives. It never looks nice. Ive carried out looks nice. Ive carried out stop and searches. Theres sometimes loud , theyre sometimes loud, theyre sometimes loud, theyre sometimes quite violent, but its a job that the police do. So nobody wants to join the police anymore. The Police Police anymore. The Police Service have become the aunt sallys of society. And getting back to the original point that you were saying is that two of my family, two Police Officers , my family, two Police Officers, are injured. They may well be seriously injured. And what is it they did . They were men and women that got up today , put on women that got up today, put on their uniform. And they know the flak that they get. They know the abuse and the insults. They get the threats that they get. Get the threats that they get. They still got in their cars and they still rush to the scene. And why did they do that . Because they stand between good and bad, right and wrong. And sadly, some of them pay the ultimate price for trying to protect society. And it is it is terribly sad. And as you say, we await to hear their condition , but, norman, their condition, but, norman, talk us through how as a Police Officer, you confront a man who is armed with a knife like the one weve seen in the footage circulating there, a man wielding. You rock up. Its your wielding. You rock up. Its your job. Every day youre called to a scene. You see a man wandering the streets, lurking, prowling the streets, lurking, prowling the streets, lurking, prowling the streets with a weapon like that. How do you confront when youre not armed yourself . Well, ill give you a brief scenario. When i was a serbian Police Officer, it was the early hours of the morning. I was hours of the morning. I was unarmed, i just had a baton, cs spray. I unarmed, i just had a baton, cs spray. I didnt even have a stab vest and a burglar. An armed burglar had burgled three houses in chelsea and had anybody disturbed him. Theres a likelihood they would have been murdered because you dont carry a knife to commit a crime if you are not prepared to use it. Well, along with some other colleagues, we were pursuing the suv colleagues, we were pursuing the guy. It was dark. It was in the early hours. I was a very fast runner in those days. I was in my area car. I joined in the chase. I my area car. I joined in the chase. I overtook the suspect, i didnt know he was armed, although he just carried out three armed burglaries. And in the darkness as i tried to arrest him, he pulled out a blade that went deep into my chest. Wow. And the devastation that it causes is huge. People think that the Police Officers are these brutes that stop black people, that they got Nothing Better to do than nick motorists. But do you know what . Weve got nothing really better to do than try and protect the public. And some of us never leave the Police Service without being injured in body, mind or spirit. I still carry those scars. Till i still carry those scars. Till today i dont even look at my chest. Chest. Normally its an incredibly powerful story. You you share with us there and all i can really say is thank you for your service. Thank you for what you have done to keep people in this country safe. Norman bremen, country safe. Norman bremen, there a former Police Officer. Were going to return now to mark white, our home and security editor, who has an update on the crime figures that weve been talking about in london. Because, mark, many politicians have been saying in london it is simply the worst in the country. Crime, knife crime, specifically up in london, but down elsewhere in england. Down elsewhere in england. Yeah, theres no doubt about that. Yeah, theres no doubt about that. If you look at knife crime that. If you look at knife crime across the country last year, the latest figures available , the latest figures available, they show that there were 49, almost 49,000 knife related offences , up from 46,000 the offences, up from 46,000 the year before. So its a 5 rise. Year before. So its a 5 rise. However that number would have shown a slight drop nationally. But for the london figures, which are up 22, and indeed the home secretary , James Cleverly, home secretary, James Cleverly, wrote to the london mayor, sadiq khan , and said it was a surge in khan, and said it was a surge in london knife crime that had resulted in knife crime figures nationally showing a rise instead of a slight drop. You inste