A woman killed in a suspected stranger attack in the early hours of Sunday was a "kind soul" friends have said.
Zara Aleena, 35, was assaulted walking along Cranbrook Road, towards Gants Hill station in Ilford, east London. She died later in hospital.
A 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, in what police say was an "opportunist stranger attack".
Her friend Sophie said of the recent graduate: "She was the nicest person you could ever meet, always positive."
"She lit up the whole room," she added. "She could talk to anyone for hours."
Paramedics were at the scene of the assault at about 02:45 BST on Sunday after Ms Aleena, who lived locally, was found by members of the public.
In a statement, Ch Supt Stuart Bell said: "It is now believed that she was the victim of an opportunist stranger attack. Her family are aware of this and they will continue to be updated."
He added there was no evidence of any weapons being used in the beating, which left Ms Aleena with fatal head injuries.
The BBC has seen CCTV footage which shows a young woman, who friends believe is Ms Aleena, being followed by a man moments before the killing.
In the first few frames of the footage, the man is seen marching at a fast pace towards a young woman as she walks along the street.
The CCTV footage has been handed to the police.
A post-mortem examination revealed Ms Aleena had "multiple serious injuries".
Karina - who did not provide her surname - and Sherit Nair described her as someone who cared about and looked after all her friends and was a "lifeline for her mother and grandmother" as she did all of their shopping and arranged their medication.
The friends, who have known Ms Aleena for years, said she graduated in October after extensive studying and had only been working at the Royal Courts of Justice for a few weeks.
Jamsin Hossein told the BBC it was a "shock" to lose her "amazing" friend.
"She didn't have a bad bone in her. She was kind, she was loving, she was - like all her friends and family said - a lifeline for her grandma and her mum," she said.
"And she was just so innocent, so pure."
Another friend has told the BBC that Ms Aleena refused the offer of a taxi home after a night out, preferring to do the two-mile journey on foot. She loved walking and was known as a fast walker.
Rafia Ahmed, who lives nearby, said she and her friends were worried about their safety and wondered whether they should only go out in groups.
"Because it's literally on our doorstep, it scares you. As a female you think twice about going out by yourself."
A third of London's 45 homicide victims in 2022 have been women, according to data collected by the Met Police, British Transport Police and City of London Police.
A significant police presence is expected to remain in the area in the coming days.
Ch Supt Bell said he understood Ms Aleena's death was an "incredibly distressing incident".
"Women should not have to change their behaviour and should be able to go about their business feeling safe any time of day or night and it is our job to ensure that happens.
"Officers cannot be in all places at all times. We urge the community, especially women, to report any suspicious or unwanted behaviour or to seek help if you feel threatened."
Boris Johnson on Monday secured a 74-vote majority for a bill to rip up the Northern Ireland element of his Brexit deal, but only after the plan was mauled by his predecessor and scores of Tory MPs failed to back it.
Theresa May, the former UK prime minister, led criticism of the Northern Ireland protocol bill, condemning it as illegal and warning it would damage Britain’s standing in the world.
A number of senior Conservatives also spoke out against the legislation, but none voted against the bill, which secured its crucial second reading by 295 to 221.
There were, however, many Tory abstentions and the measure is expected to face months of delays and amendments when it reaches the House of Lords, where the government has no majority.
More than 70 Tory MPs either abstained or were excused from voting: they included May, former Northern Ireland secretaries Julian Smith and Karen Bradley and former attorney-general Geoffrey Cox.
Speaking in the Commons on Monday, May scorned Johnson’s claim that he needed to pass legislation to overturn parts of the NI protocol, the part of his Brexit deal covering trade with the region.
“This bill, in my view, is not legal under international law, won’t achieve its aims and diminishes the standing of the UK in the eyes of the world,” May told MPs.
Meanwhile Simon Hoare, Tory chair of the Commons Northern Ireland committee, said the bill appeared to be a “muscle flex for a future leadership bid” by Liz Truss, the foreign secretary.
Andrew Mitchell, a former Tory chief whip, said the bill “trashes our international reputation”.
Truss insisted the legislation was “both legal and necessary” to address economic and political tensions in the region.
She claimed the EU was unwilling to change the protocol, agreed by Johnson in 2020, even though its operation was causing tension in the pro-UK unionist community in Northern Ireland.
The protocol creates a border in the Irish Sea for goods passing from the UK into Northern Ireland, which remains in the EU’s single market for goods. It also removes the need for border checks on the Irish land border.
May, who tried and failed to sell her own Brexit deal to parliament, warned at the time that creating a trade border inside the UK would result in such tensions. Johnson later hailed his deal with the EU as a triumph.
The legislation would create red and green channels at NI ports; only goods passing through the region from Britain en route to the Republic of Ireland — an EU member state — would face full checks.
The bill would also end the role of the European Court of Justice in enforcing the protocol, while removing EU jurisdiction over subsidies and VAT. Traders in NI could choose to apply either UK or EU regulations.
Ministers agreed this month that the bill should not be given its second reading until Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party, the biggest unionist party, had agreed to end its boycott of the region’s executive at Stormont.
But Truss admitted she had not secured an agreement and said only that her expectation was that “the passage of the bill” would see a re-establishment of the power-sharing body at Stormont.
The DUP said it wanted to see concrete action towards removing key elements of the protocol before it would bow to any UK government demands to restart the region’s executive.
On Monday, ahead of MPs voting on the legislation, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson hinted the party might move before the bill was finally enacted, but remained non-committal, saying only that it would “consider what steps we can take”.
He added: “I have made clear that we will be condition-led, not calendar-led, and that we want to see real progress with this bill, and that’s our message today to the House of Commons.”
The EU has warned Britain against unilaterally ripping up the protocol, but negotiations on improving its operation have stalled.
May noted drily that this might be because EU leaders did not expect Johnson to be in Number 10 much longer or — even if he survived as prime minister — doubted whether he would honour any future deal.
Brussels has responded to the bill by restarting legal proceedings against the UK and threatening to use “all measures at its disposal”, including a potential trade war, if London acted to unravel the protocol.
Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister said he was “hugely disappointed” by the British decision to push on with the legislation.
Earlier on Monday, Truss hosted UK business leaders for a roundtable discussion on how issues raised by the protocol could be solved.
One person present said Truss had told the meeting that EU inflexibility had left the government with no choice but to act unilaterally. They added that some UK retailers and small businesses had raised concerns that the legislation could cause a trade war with the EU during the cost of living crisis.
Doctors have called for a 30% pay rise over the next five years with some medics saying they might have to take industrial action if their demands aren't met.
Delegates at the British Medical Association's (BMA) annual conference in Brighton voted to press ministers to agree to the increase, which they say makes up for real-term cuts to salaries since 2008.
Some doctors who supported the motion pointed to the rail worker's strike as inspiration for how public sector workers should pursue pay demands with the current government.
Presenting the motion to the conference, Dr Emma Runswick said: "Pay restoration is the right, just and moral thing to do, but it is a significant demand and it won't be easy to win.
"Every part of the BMA needs to plan for how to achieve this. But I'm not foolish, I know that it's likely that industrial action will be required to move the governments on this issue."
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She said that it is "outrageous" that doctors' pay has been cut by 30%, a sum that represents earnings losses amounting to "millions of pounds".
Dr Runswick added: "All around us, workers are coming together in trade unions and winning big - last month bin men in Manchester 22%; Gatwick airport workers won a 21% pay increase two weeks ago, and in March cleaners and porters at Croydon hospital won a 24% pay rise.
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"Those workers got together and used a key tool that trade unions have - the ability to collectively organise, collectively negotiate and collectively withdraw our labour... vote for this motion and I'll see you on the picket lines."
'Unmanageable workloads' facing NHS staff
Doctors also called on MPs to address staff shortages to help the NHS deal with record waiting lists, with one medic saying that "there's no rescue plan beyond 'work harder'".
Dr Jacqueline Davies told delegates: "There is an answer to the backlog and the unmanageable workloads facing exhausted NHS staff.
"The NHS is facing record demand with no additional capacity. Staff are leaving in droves and there's no rescue plan beyond 'work harder'.
"We know that staff shortages lead to critical incidents and who gets the blame? We do, the burden falls on us."
The deputy chair of the BMA Council noted that even before the pandemic waiting times were "too high" and have gone up to a "perilous level" due to the added pressure of COVID.
"We have a record 6.5 million people waiting for treatment in England, as well as the significant 'hidden backlog' of people who have still to come forward for care after the worst of the pandemic, or whose referrals were cancelled," Dr David Wrigley said.
"What is most unnerving for doctors - who have spent the last two years working at a pace and under a level of pressure they've never experienced before - is that plans to tackle this backlog in care lack any meaningful strategy to boost and support the workforce who will be responsible for it."
Boris Johnson says he wants to force through controversial Brexit legislation by the end of the year and insists questions about his leadership are “settled”.
As MP vote today on a law that would unilaterally override parts of the Brexit deal, the prime minister said world leaders were not challenging him over the issue.
“The interesting thing is how little this conversation is being had,” he claimed at the G7 summit in Bavaria.
The government’s Northern Ireland protocol bill has its second reading in the Commons this afternoon, with ministers saying it will fix problems that are damaging trade with the rest of the UK.
Johnson argues that the proposals — which would set different rules for goods due to remain in the UK, while checks continue on goods destined for the EU — will solve the problem “without in any way endangering the EU single market”.
He said that Britain was trying to “fix something that I think is very important to our country, which is the balance of the Belfast, Good Friday agreement and you’ve got one tradition, one community that feels that things really aren’t working in a way that they like or understand”.
Despite fears of a trade war with the EU if the bill passes, Johnson said “we can do it fairly rapidly”. Asked if that meant this year, he said: “Yes we could do it very fast.” He stressed it would be “even better” if the EU changed its position in negotiation, insisting “we remain optimistic” about the potential for a revised deal.
With questions swirling about his leadership and MPs openly urging the cabinet to revolt against him, Johnson dismissed efforts by his own party to unseat him. Referring to a confidence vote in which four in ten Conservative MPs opposed him, he said: “We settled that a couple of weeks ago.”
Aside from the political discussions at the G7 summit, the wives of some of the leaders, including Carrie Johnson, watched a demonstration of summer training techniques for cross-country skiing.
The EU Council president's partner, Amelie Derbaudrenghien; Britta Ernst, the wife of Olaf Scholz; Carrie Johnson; and Emmanuel Macron’s wife, Brigitte, at Elmauer Alm Mountain Restaurant today
MICHAELA/REUTERS
3 hours ago
6.30pm
Overriding NI bill is illegal, says May
Theresa May has warned her successor that the EU were unlikely to meaningfully engage with him after the confidence vote
JESSICA TAYLOR/UK PARLIAMENT/REUTERS
The government’s plan to override the Northern Ireland Brexit bill is illegal under international law, won’t achieve its aims and will reduce Britain’s standing in the world, Theresa May has said.
In an excoriating Commons attack the former prime minister said she could not support legislation to override the Northern Ireland protocol being debated for the first time today.
“As a patriot I would not want to do anything that would diminish this country in the eyes of the world,” she said. “I have to say to the government that this bill is not in my view legal in international law, it will not achieve its aims and it will diminish the standing of the United Kingdom in the eyes of the world and I cannot support it.”
In a jibe at Johnson she suggested that after this month’s confidence vote the EU was unlikely to meaningfully engage with her successor — preferring instead to wait for a new Conservative leader.
“My experience was that the EU looks very carefully at the political situation in any country,” she said. “I discovered after I had faced a no confidence vote, despite having won, they then start to ask themselves — is it really worth negotiating with these people?’
7 hours ago
1.55pm
‘If Ukraine wins, you all win’ — Zelensky’s plea for support
President Zelensky has appealed to western leaders for more weaponry, urging them not to let Russia’s invasion “drag on over winter”.
Addressing G7 leaders via video he said that “if Ukraine wins, you all win” and pleaded for more ammunition and missiles to force Russia back.
President Zelensky addressed G7 leaders at the summit in the Bavarian Alps via a video link
In a joint statement the leaders pledged their “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine after concerns that some in Europe wanted to pressure Zelensky to cut a deal with Russia.
Zelensky told G7 leaders that “we will only negotiate from a position of strength” on territory. Boris Johnson has insisted that Russia must be ejected from Ukraine.
The G7 promised to “align and expand targeted sanctions” aimed at Russia’s arms industry as negotiations continued on oil and gold.
8 hours ago
12.50pm
Nato response force to increase to more than 300,000
Jens Stoltenberg said today that more military exercises will take place in the Baltic states
KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/GETTY IMAGES
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato, said that western nations would make clear that Russia was now considered the “most significant and direct threat to our security” as the alliance significantly bolsters its forces held at high readiness.
At a press conference before a Nato summit in Madrid this week, he said it would agree to increase its 40,000-strong response force to more than 300,000 as part of the biggest overhaul of collective defence since the Cold War.
Multinational battle groups already stationed in Nato’s eastern flank will also be increased by several thousand troops to brigade-sized forces. A standard Nato brigade consists of approximately 3,200 to 5,500 troops. At present Britain leads the so-called “enhanced forward presence” unit in Estonia, with two battle groups each comprising close to 1,000 personnel.
More exercises will take place and equipment will be pre-positioned in countries including the Baltic states, Stoltenberg said.
Nato’s new “strategic concept” — effectively a blueprint on the threats and challenges it faces over the next decade — will also address the rising threat from China for the first time.
9 hours ago
12.00pm
PM likens Russia to Nazi Germany
Boris Johnson declared that “the price of freedom is worth paying” as he braced Britain for a long and costly struggle against Russia (Chris Smyth writes).
Comparing the battle against Russian aggression to fighting the Nazis, the prime minister insisted that giving ground on Ukraine would embolden China to invade Taiwan and that “strategic endurance” would lead to long-term prosperity.
He dismissed his critics, saying he had a “new mandate” from the confidence vote in which four in ten of his MPs tried to remove him, but did not repeat his ambition to remain in Downing Street beyond 2030.
He told the BBC there had been no discussion among world leaders of pressing Ukraine to cede territory in order to ease a global cost of living crisis. “No one here at the G7 can really see any alternative to simply supporting them in regaining their sovereignty,” he said.
Amid rising fuel and food prices, Johnson sought to reassure Britain that “the economic impacts on the UK will start to abate” but insisted there could be no compromise.
“Imagine if we allowed Putin to get away with the violent acquisition of huge chunks of another country, a sovereign, independent territory, the lessons for that would be absolutely chilling in all of the countries of the former Soviet Union, you can see what’s happening in the Baltic countries already,” he said, adding that the effects would also be felt in east Asia.
Asked if there was any limit on the costs Britain would bear to help Ukraine, Johnson said: “I think that sometimes the price of freedom is worth paying ... it took the democracies, in the middle of the last century, a long time to recognise that they had to resist tyranny and aggression ... it was very expensive.
“But what it bought in the end, with the defeat of the dictators, particularly of Nazi Germany, it bought decades and decades of stability, a world order that relied on a rules-based international system.”
10 hours ago
10.45am
Johnson strikes Ukraine pact with Macron
President Macron and Boris Johnson held a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit
BENOIT TESSIER/REUTERS
Boris Johnson and President Macron agreed to hold an Anglo-French summit to improve ties after pledging to help Ukraine to mount a military “surge” against Russia.
The two men’s relationship has been fraught but yesterday the prime minister jokingly referred to it as “le bromance” and said they were “100 per cent aligned”. Although Britain has previously questioned France’s commitment to Ukraine, during a bilateral meeting at the G7 summit the pair agreed that the outright defeat of Russia remained the best outcome.
If that failed Macron said that they needed to put President Zelensky in the best position to strike a deal. Johnson was said to be effusive after he emerged from the meeting because Macron’s firm line on Ukraine exceeded British expectations. Johnson spoke of his love for the French people and Macron spoke of his love for the British. The pair deliberately kept clear of issues they have clashed on in the past.
The prime minister’s wife, Carrie, and the French president’s wife, Brigitte, greeted each other warmly today before watching a demonstration of summer training techniques for cross-country skiing.
Carrie Johnson and Brigitte Macron at Elmauer Alm, near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, this morning
MICHAELA REHLE/REUTERS
11 hours ago
9.45am
G7 looks to raise pressure on Kremlin with Russian oil price cap
The Yang Mei Hu oil tanker at the crude oil terminal Kozmino near Nakhodka, Russia. China continues to buy Russian crude, in contrast to the approach of western countries
TATIANA MEEL/REUTERS
The G7 is considering an American proposal to effectively cap the price that can be paid for Russian oil as it seeks to ratchet up the pressure on Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine (Emily Gosden writes).
America has already banned imports of oil from Russia, with Britain pledging to do so by the end of the year and the European Union banning seaborne imports by the end of this year.
However, there are concerns over the extent to which such bans are hurting the Kremlin’s finances as countries such as China and India continue to buy Russian crude and a squeeze on supplies in the West pushes up the price of oil.
Johnson to rally G7 behind Ukraine as Zelensky addresses summit
Boris Johnson was up early this morning in glorious alpine sunshine, heading to Ferchensee lake near the Schloss Elmau in Bavaria for a swim with his wife, Carrie. A peaceful dip may well turn out to be the high point of his day: he will attempt to show leadership on the world stage by rallying the G7 summit behind Ukraine, while at the same time instructing MPs at home to rip up parts of the Brexit deal he signed, as his backbenchers openly implore cabinet ministers to oust him.
President Zelensky is addressing world leaders at the summit today via video as Johnson tries to sell a plan to get grain out of Ukraine by insuring commercial shipping to break the Russian Black Sea blockade and repairing the country’s railways.
Boris Johnson gives a thumbs-up as President Zelensky addresses world leaders at the G7 summit
BENOIT TESSIER/GETTY IMAGES
Back in London, George Eustice, the environment secretary, was forced to defend what he acknowledged had been a “choppy and turbulent” six months and defuse a row created by Johnson’s stated desire to remain in No 10 into the 2030s.
Eustice told Times Radio that Johnson would “like to go on and on”, a wish that has infuriated the prime minister’s critics, but argued that “prime ministers can’t win” when talking about their date of departure.
“They either say that they want to carry on and they’ve got a lot to do and they want to keep going. And that’s what obviously Margaret Thatcher said and what Boris Johnson is perceived to have said. Or like Tony Blair, they say they’re not going to go on and on and people spend years arguing about the date of their departure.”
After four in ten Tory MPs voted to oust Johnson, Eustice insisted the party had “put that vote behind us” and was uniting behind the prime minister.
This is true in the sense that backbenchers, denied another vote for a year under present rules, have now moved on to urging members of the cabinet to force Johnson out.
Damian Green, who was deputy prime minister under Theresa May, told Channel 4: “I think if this long agony for everyone concerned, from the PM down, is to be brought to a head ... then maybe somebody in the cabinet might wish to take some action.”
William Wragg, vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee, told the BBC last night: “The sense of disappointment that there is on the back benches towards the cabinet is palpable because you would have expected for some of them at least to show a bit of backbone.”
12 hours ago
9.00am
PM’s battles at home and abroad
Good morning and welcome to The Times’s live coverage of today’s politics as Boris Johnson pushes for his Ukraine grain plan on the world stage, while his future as prime minister is still in doubt at home.
Barristers in criminal cases have gone on strike across England and Wales in a long-running dispute over pay.
Eight out of 10 cases at London's Old Bailey were disrupted by the walkout, barristers outside the court said.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said the strikes will "delay justice", as courts already face a backlog of 58,000 cases.
Barristers have rejected a proposed 15% rise in their fees for undertaking legal aid work and will be taking action over the next four weeks.
Members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) have said this is too low and called for a minimum 25% wage increase.
Jo Sidhu QC, chair of the CBA, said they had already lost a quarter of specialist criminal barristers over the last five years, with 300 leaving last year.
PA Media
Kirsty Brimelow QC, deputy chair of the CBA, said the proposed rise in legal aid fees would not be introduced until the end of next year.
By then, she told the BBC, it would be too late to help and would not do enough to stem the flow of junior barristers leaving the bar.
Under the legal aid system, the government pays for barristers to ensure suspects who cannot afford lawyers are properly advised and represented.
The government sets pay rates for barristers doing legal aid work.
Dozens of barristers have been rallying outside the Old Bailey in their robes and wigs, as two murder trials at the court - one involving a teenage suspect - were unable to get under way.
Others have been striking outside a number of high-profile courts, including Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol Crown Courts.
Those joining picket lines have been warned by the most senior judge in England and Wales, The Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, that they could face disciplinary proceedings for misconduct if they don't turn up to court.
Reuters
Downing Street urged barristers to agree to the proposed 15% pay rise, which a spokesperson said would see a typical barrister earn around £7,000 more a year.
But Ms Brimelow, speaking outside Manchester Crown Court, told the BBC the system had run on "good will" for a long time, including throughout the pandemic, with junior barristers working "ridiculous hours."
She said the issue had been "caused by government, not by barristers."
The strikes start with walkouts on Monday and Tuesday and, for four weeks, increase by one day each week until a five-day strike is held from Monday 18 July to Friday 22 July.
How much do criminal lawyers earn?
Barristers are self-employed and often perceived as highly-paid.
But that figure falls to a range of £55,900 to £62,900 once expenses are accounted for.
Meanwhile, new criminal barristers can earn as little as £9,000 once costs, including transport, are factored in, while some barristers say the time they spend preparing cases means their hourly earnings are below minimum wage.
Barristers with zero, one or two years of practise earned a median of £25,100 before expenses and a net figure of £18,800 after expenses.
Lawyers who work in other areas, such as private corporate law, can expect to earn £100,000 a year from very early in their careers.
Junior barristers are working for a "pittance" - and sometimes for nothing at all if cases are adjourned, barrister and author Chris Daw told BBC News.
He said that the 15% pay rise proposed by the government would not "touch the sides" and will be "wiped out by inflation" by the time it comes into effect.
If nothing changes, he said strike action could go on until August "or beyond".
The number of lawyers working in criminal justice - both barristers who appear before judges in courts and solicitors who instruct them - has declined over the last decade, as many say they cannot make a living when they take on cases funded by legal aid.
'Not enough to pay my bills'
Junior criminal barrister Claire Stevenson says she finds out which court she'll be attending the day before - and any case could include reading hundreds of pages of documents.
"It may be that you have to spend the whole night reading... to ensure that you are acting in the best interests of your client," she tells the BBC.
Criminal barristers get paid for their preparation and the trial, as well as additional payments per day worked.
But she says lots of other unseen work means they're not paid enough: "People think you turn up on the day of the trial good to go - you don't."
When she began her career a few years ago she was paid about £12,000 a year, but since then has started working in other areas of law as the money "just simply wasn't enough to pay my bills".
There were 567 criminal trials, including 60 sexual offence cases, unable to go ahead last year as there were no barristers to prosecute and defend them, according to Ms Brimelow.
And as of the end of April, there was a backlog of 58,271 cases, according to HM Courts and Tribunal Service.
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Mr Raab said the strikes were "regrettable" and only 43.5% of CBA members voted for the "most disruptive option".
More than 81% of the 2,055 CBA members who cast their vote supported industrial action, and 53.4% of those also voted to refuse new cases and "return work" - stepping in and picking up court hearings for other colleagues.
Additional reporting by Natasha Preskey and Dulcie Lee.
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A 36-year-old woman who died from severe head injuries after what police believe was a stranger attack in east London has been named as Zara Aleena.
Ms Aleena, who was local, was the victim of an "horrific assault", police said, as she was walking on Cranbrook Road, towards Gants Hill station in Ilford, in the early hours of Sunday.
The Met Police said it believed she was a "victim of an attack by a stranger". Her family has been informed.
A 29-year-old man has been arrested.
Officers said he was detained at an address in Ilford shortly after 16:00 BST and was being held on suspicion of murder.
Paramedics were at the scene at 02:45 BST on Sunday and took Ms Aleena to hospital, where she later died.
In a statement, Chief Supt Stuart Bell said: "Zara, who lived locally, was walking along Cranbrook Road in the direction of Gants Hill Station when she was assaulted.
"It is now believed that she was the victim of an attack by a stranger.
No evidence of weapon
"Her family are aware of this and as the investigation progresses they will continue to be updated and supported."
He added there was no evidence of any weapons being used in the attack, which left Ms Aleena with fatal head injuries.
A post-mortem examination revealed Ms Aleena had "suffered multiple serious injuries".
Earlier, Chief Supt Bell said the investigation was being led by homicide detectives.
Amir Ahmed
"I understand that for women, particularly locally, this is an incredibly distressing incident, and I urge you to be alert but not alarmed."
He said officers were working "at pace" to establish what had happened.
'Don't feel safe'
Shopkeeper Kuldip Singh said he was concerned at the level of violence in the area, highlighting how this homicide was the third in five years.
"This one was quite brutal," he said. "It was a young lady but people don't really feel safe in this location as much as they used to.
"If I was an elderly person or a female, especially in the winter months, walking through this road you could be at risk."
A significant police presence is expected to remain in the area in the coming days.
Of London's 45 homicide victims this year, 15 have been women.
This time last year there had been 56 London homicide victims, 12 of whom were female, according to Met Police, British Transport Police and City of London Police statistics.
Det Ch Insp Mark Rogers, who is leading the investigation, said his team were keen to hear from anyone who was in the Cranbrook Road area between 02:00 and 03:00, particularly those with dashcam footage.
Met Police
