Prominent Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is critically ill after being shot in the head, her party says.
The Taking the Initiative Party said she was being treated in intensive care after being "brutally attacked" in the early hours of Sunday.
The group said the attack, which happened in Peckham, south London, followed "numerous death threats".
Police have not confirmed her identity but said at this stage there was no evidence the attack was targeted.
Officers said the 27-year-old woman was taken to a south London hospital with life-threatening injuries and have appealed for witnesses.
Police said at this stage there was no evidence to suggest it was a targeted shooting or that she had received any credible threats against her.
Imarn Ayton, a friend of Ms Johnson's, told the BBC doctors had carried out surgery on her fellow activist which had gone well and she was "now with her parents".
She said Ms Johnson had been at a party or gathering when she was injured but she did not believe "she was the intended victim".
"As far as I am aware... this incident is more related to rival gangs as opposed to her activism," Ms Ayton said.
Detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command have been conducting inquiries at the scene and the surrounding area and are pursuing a number of lines.
It is believed the shooting happened near a house where a party was taking place and a number of people may have been in the area, a Met Police statement said.
Det Ch Insp Jimi Tele said: "This was a shocking incident that has left a young woman with very serious injuries. Our thoughts are with her family who are being provided with support at this terribly difficult time."
He added: "If you saw anything suspicious in the Consort Road area in the early hours of Sunday morning, or if you have heard information since that could help detectives, it is crucial that you get in touch."
Ms Johnson, a graduate of Oxford Brookes University, has been a leading figure in the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK and is a member of the Taking the Initiative Party's leadership committee.
'Pray for Sasha'
In a statement on Instagram, the party said Ms Johnson was a mother of two and a "powerful voice" who had always been fighting for black people and against the injustices that surround the black community.
"Let's all come together and pray for Sasha, pray for her recovery and show our support to her family and loved ones," it said.
Black Lives Matters UK tweeted it was shocked by the shooting of "a young mother and fearless political campaigner who was at the forefront of many BLM protests last summer".
It said that while she was not part of their own organisation, "she impressively founded a new Black-led political party and was dedicated to resist anti-Black racism".
Announcing that a vigil would be held for her on Monday afternoon at King's College Hospital, it added: "Any attempt to intimidate or silence her, is an attack on all of us."
Prominent Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is critically ill after being shot in the head, her party says.
The Taking the Initiative Party said she was being treated in intensive care after being "brutally attacked" in the early hours of Sunday.
The group said the attack, which happened in Peckham, south London, followed "numerous death threats".
Police have not confirmed her identity but said at this stage there was no evidence the attack was targeted.
Officers said the 27-year-old woman was taken to a south London hospital with life-threatening injuries and have appealed for witnesses.
Police said at this stage there was no evidence to suggest it was a targeted shooting or that she had received any credible threats against her.
Imarn Ayton, a friend of Ms Johnson's, told the BBC doctors had carried out surgery on her fellow activist which had gone well and she was "now with her parents".
She said Ms Johnson had been at a party or gathering when she was injured but she did not believe "she was the intended victim".
"As far as I am aware... this incident is more related to rival gangs as opposed to her activism," Ms Ayton said.
Detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command have been conducting inquiries at the scene and the surrounding area and are pursuing a number of lines.
It is believed the shooting happened near a house where a party was taking place and a number of people may have been in the area, a Met Police statement said.
Det Ch Insp Jimi Tele said: "This was a shocking incident that has left a young woman with very serious injuries. Our thoughts are with her family who are being provided with support at this terribly difficult time."
He added: "If you saw anything suspicious in the Consort Road area in the early hours of Sunday morning, or if you have heard information since that could help detectives, it is crucial that you get in touch."
Ms Johnson, a graduate of Oxford Brookes University, has been a leading figure in the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK and is a member of the Taking the Initiative Party's leadership committee.
'Pray for Sasha'
In a statement on Instagram, the party said Ms Johnson was a mother of two and a "powerful voice" who had always been fighting for black people and against the injustices that surround the black community.
"Let's all come together and pray for Sasha, pray for her recovery and show our support to her family and loved ones," it said.
Black Lives Matters UK tweeted it was shocked by the shooting of "a young mother and fearless political campaigner who was at the forefront of many BLM protests last summer".
It said that while she was not part of their own organisation,"she impressively founded a new Black-led political party and was dedicated to resist anti-Black racism".
Announcing that a vigil would be held for her on Monday afternoon at King's College Hospital, it added: "Any attempt to intimidate or silence her, is an attack on all of us."
Prominent Black Lives Matter activist Sasha Johnson is in a critical condition after being shot, her political party says.
Taking the Initiative Party said she was being treated in intensive care after being shot in the head in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The BBC understands the incident happened in south London.
The Metropolitan Police said a 27-year-old woman was shot shortly before 03:00 at a gathering in Southwark.
The force has not confirmed the woman's identity.
Officers said the woman was taken to a south London hospital with life-threatening injuries and have appealed for witnesses. Her family have been informed.
Police said at this stage there was no evidence to suggest it was a targeted shooting or that she had received any credible threats against her prior to the incident.
Detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command have been conducting enquiries at the scene in Consort Road and the surrounding area, and are pursuing a number of lines.
It is believed that the shooting occurred near a house where a party was taking place and that a number of people may have been in the area, a Met police statement said.
Family supported
Detective Chief Inspector Jimi Tele said: "This was a shocking incident that has left a young woman with very serious injuries. Our thoughts are with her family who are being provided with support at this terribly difficult time."
He said detectives were making progress but needed the public's help: "If you saw anything suspicious in the Consort Road area in the early hours of Sunday morning or if you have heard information since that could help detectives, it is crucial that you get in touch."
Ms Johnson, a graduate of Oxford Brookes University, has been a leading figure in the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK, and is a member of the Taking the Initiative Party's leadership committee.
In a statement on Instagram, the party said Ms Johnson was a mother of two, and a "powerful voice" who had always been fighting for black people and the injustices that surround the black community.
"Let's all come together and pray for Sasha, pray for her recovery and show our support to her family and loved ones," it said.
Dogs can be trained to detect up to 94 per cent of Covid-19 infections — even in asymptomatic patients — according to UK research published at the weekend, suggesting they could be used at airports and other entry points to screen passengers.
The study tested the known ability of dogs to act as biosensors, capable of detecting odours associated with human health — such as the presence of Plasmodium that causes malaria — as well as drugs, explosives and food.
Overall, the dogs were successfully able to identify between 82 and 94 per cent of samples of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine wanted to know if dogs could detect a distinctive odour given off from chemical compounds associated with someone who is Covid-19 positive but doesn’t show symptoms.
They gathered samples of clothing and face masks from people.
In one test, the socks of 200 Covid-19 cases were collected and arranged in lab tests for six dogs that had been trained to indicate either a presence or absence of the chemical compound.
The team from LSHTM, Medical Detection Dogs and Durham University said the trial showed that Covid-19 infection “has a distinct smell which dogs can detect with incredible accuracy”.
“To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess whether trained dogs can distinguish between the odour of people infected with Sars-CoV-2 and those who are uninfected, in a randomised double-blind trial, where trainer and monitor were unaware of the study group for each sample, and with a sufficiently high number of dogs and individuals donating samples,” the researchers wrote.
The dogs needed to be trained not to identify “false positives” in a bid to obtain treats even if there were no Covid-19 samples in a given test.
The results are not yet peer-reviewed.
On Friday, Thailand deployed dogs trained to detect coronavirus infections by sniffing samples of human sweat, as the country deals with a surge in infections, including many asymptomatic cases.
Three of six trained Labrador retrievers had shown a success rate of about 95 per cent, similar to the UK study results.
Sniffer dogs could contribute to efforts to prevent the spread of Covid as society reopens, according to scientists.
As part of a trial, dogs were trained to recognise a distinctive odour produced by people with the virus, but undetectable to the human nose.
This could come in useful for screening at airports or mass events.
But the dogs' findings would have to be confirmed by lab testing, the researcher said.
Although the dogs correctly picked up 88% of coronavirus cases, they also incorrectly flagged 14% of people as having the virus when no Covid was present.
Dogs can have up to 100,000 times the smelling ability of humans and have long been used to sniff out drugs and explosives.
Recent research has shown dogs - particularly breeds like spaniels and retrievers - can detect the unique scents of diseases including cancer, Parkinson's and malaria.
As part of the current canine screening trial, six dogs were trained to recognise the smell produced by people with Covid-19 using worn socks, face masks and t-shirts of various materials.
They were rewarded with treats when they correctly guessed whether the sample was from an individual who had tested positive or negative.
Some of the people in the negative group had common cold viruses, to make sure the dogs were able to distinguish Covid from other respiratory infections.
The dogs were able to sniff out the disease even when it was caused by different variants, and when the person had no symptoms or only had very low levels of the virus in their system.
Dr Claire Guest, Chief Scientific Officer at charity Medical Detection Dogs, which trained the animals, said the results were "further evidence that dogs are one of the most reliable biosensors for detecting the odour of human disease".
They picked up roughly 88% of positive cases - meaning, for every 100 cases, the dogs failed to recognise just 12 infected people.
But out of 100 people who did not have Covid, the dogs wrongly suggested - via the sniff test - that 14 of them were infected.
So if one person on a plane of 300 passengers has Covid, the dogs are likely to correctly identify the person with coronavirus, but may also wrongly indicate that another 42 people are infected.
It means a proportion of infections will be missed, and some people will be told they have the virus when they don't. This is the case for all tests to different extents, but the canine method incorrectly tells a lot more people they have the virus than the type you swab up your nose.
So the research team does not recommend dogs alone are used to sniff out positive cases.
MDD
But they believe the dogs could be an additional screening tool alongside more conventional tests. They say dog screening, followed by swab testing, will pick up 91% of infections.
The real potential advantage, though, is speed: even the quickest tests take 15 minutes to show a result, while dogs can sniff out the disease in seconds.
Two dogs could screen 300 people in half an hour, researchers say.
This could make the sniff test "a suitable method for mass screening", argues Prof Logan at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, which conducted the research alongside the University of Durham.
In theory, people could be screened as they queue for a flight or to enter an event, and anyone flagged up by the dogs would need to take a PCR test - the more accurate type of swab tests which is processed in a lab.
This could cut down on the numbers having to enter hotel quarantine.
Dogs could also potentially be used in areas where there isn't currently much screening, such as busy train stations, to help prevent a super-spreading event.
The research is at an early stage so it still needs to be reviewed by other scientists before it can be published and, in the next phase of the study, tried out on infected people - rather than bits of sock.
The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox is to be Labour's candidate in the Batley and Spen by-election, a poll that could determine whether Sir Keir Starmer survives as party leader.
Kim Leadbeater, 44, who only joined the Labour Party recently, will defend the seat once held by Ms Cox.
Until recently it was held by former Coronation Street actress Tracy Brabin who quit as MP after being elected to the new post of West Yorkshire metro mayor.
In a crucial intervention this weekend, Labour's "King of the North" Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester and favourite to succeed Sir Keir as party leader, backed Ms Leadbeater, claiming she was "not a typical politician" and "exactly the kind of voice Labour needs".
Image:The 44-year-old will defend the seat held by Tracy Brabin
Ms Brabin had a majority of 3,525 over the Conservatives at the December 2019 general election, but after the Tories' spectacular victory in the Hartlepool by-election they are odds-on favourites for another "Red Wall" triumph.
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That would almost certainly trigger moves by Sir Keir's left-wing critics in the party and trade unions to oust him, with Jeremy Corbyn's close ally Diane Abbott already predicting a Labour defeat in the by-election "must surely be curtains" for Sir Keir.
Ms Leadbeater is an ambassador for the Jo Cox Foundation, leader of the More in Common Batley and Spen community volunteer group and was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours for her work on tackling social isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.
More on Jo Cox
She said: "I am overwhelmed and humbled by the support and faith from members in Batley and Spen. I'm ready to hit the ground running and take Labour's campaign to local people."
Speaking at the meeting in the constituency, Ms Leadbeater added: "I'm a proud Yorkshire woman and have lived in Batley and Spen all my life.
Image:Kim Leadbeater will be Labour's candidate in the Batley and Spen by-election
"I have a deep understanding of the area, its people and some of the challenges it faces. I feel passionately about the strength there is in such a diverse constituency.
"I'm the candidate the Tories fear. They know that I have a proven track record of getting things done at a local level and an established reputation for working for all parts of the community.
"We need strong northern voices at Westminster. People rooted in their communities. I will work to represent people across the whole constituency.
"Nobody should be in any doubt about the scale of the task we have to keep Batley and Spen Labour. The spotlight will be on us - but I want to show the world that both the Labour party in Batley and Spen and our community are strong and proud."
Image:Ms Leadbeater is Jo Cox's sister
The Conservatives have selected Ryan Stephenson, a Leeds city councillor and chairman of the West Yorkshire Conservatives, as their candidate.
"My campaign will focus on how Batley and Spen can build back better as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
A date for the by-election has not yet been set, but it is thought Labour is considering holding it on 22 July, the day the Commons breaks up for the summer recess.
That would make it harder for Sir Keir's enemies in the party to move against him.
Ms Cox was elected in 2015 but was murdered outside a constituency surgery by a far-right extremist a week before the 2016 EU referendum.
The seat, between Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield and Wakefield, was held by the Tories from 1983-97 but has been Labour since.
Image:Sir Keir is already under enormous pressure from inside his party
But the party faces four formidable obstacles in defending the seat, which voted 59.6% Leave - lower than in Hartlepool, where 69.6% voted for Brexit - in the referendum and where its 2019 majority was almost identical to that in Hartlepool:
• The Tories "Red Wall" surge, with victory in Hartlepool and major gains in town hall elections in the north of England, has given Boris Johnson and the Conservatives the momentum to pull off another shock by-election victory
• A pro-Brexit independent, ex-rugby league professional Paul Halloran, polled 6,432 votes in the 2019 election and may stand again
• George Galloway, the firebrand left-wing former Labour MP, says his Workers Party GB will stand. If he is the candidate, he is likely to highlight violence in Gaza to woo Muslim voters and he won a by-election in nearby Bradford West, with one of the largest Muslim populations in the country, in 2012.
• A row over the suspension of a Batley Grammar School teacher who showed pupils a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, prompting days of protests in March, could become a big issue in the campaign and create difficulties for Labour.
Image:Former Labour MP George Galloway says his Workers Party GB will stand
Sir Keir is already under enormous pressure from inside his party after Labour's humiliation in Hartlepool and his bungled response, which included a botched attempt to side-line his deputy, Angela Rayner, and then a retreat in which he ended up promoting her.
It is claimed one blunder by the Labour leadership was not realising Ms Brabin would have to quit as an MP because the metro mayor is also police and crime commissioner, which meant she could not continue in the Commons.
Sir Keir is also feeling the heat from Mr Burnham, who last weekend said in an interview about his 2015 leadership bid: "I don't think we'd have lost as many northern seats had I won."
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Hartlepool turns blue for first time
Mr Burnham told The Observer he would "not be returning to Westminster any time soon" and then added: "But if there comes a point where it is clear to me that the Labour Party, having not thought me right twice, suddenly thinks 'Well actually you probably are now, because of the way the world has changed', then, as I say, I will put myself forward to lead the Labour party."
That has prompted left-wing Labour MPs to pile in with their support, with Ms Abbott writing in The Guardian about Sir Keir: "If Labour loses again, it must surely be curtains for him. And then it may be that Andy Burnham's time will have come."
Leading Corbyn supporter Jon Trickett then tweeted: "It will go nuclear after Batley."
And Rebecca Long-Bailey, defeated by Sir Keir last year, said: "There are going to have to be serious discussions if there is a loss in Batley and Spen."
From the Blairite wing of the party, former minister Lord Adonis wrote after the Hartlepool defeat: "Unfortunately, he turns out to be a transitional figure - a nice man and a good human rights lawyer, but without political skills or antennae at the highest level."
And last week the top historian and political commentator Sir Anthony Seldon wrote: "Keir Starmer is a capable man. But he is no party leader. He should stand down now in the interests of Labour."
