Incident at Merton Council

The reported incident that took place earlier today with a syringe at Merton Council has thankfully now been resolved by the Police and that a man is now in police custody. Council officers deserve to go about their work free from threats and intimidation, sadly in dealing with the public unfortunately on occasions we do have people who do not behave appropriate which is completely unacceptable. Being a councillor I'm also well aware of potential risk in dealing with people who may be potentially violent and I know the importance of being aware of surrounding security and surroundings especially since the tragic incident at former Liberal MP Nigel Jones surgery in 2000.



I enclose the report from the Wimbledon Guardian.



Hostage man holding heroin syringe to his throat at council, reports claim



Police have confirmed a 41-year-old man has locked himself in a ground floor office at Merton Council's headquarters in Morden.

Negotiators from the Met Police are at the scene of the incident, which began around 1pm, along with two ambulance vehicles.

A police spokesman confirmed no other hostages are involved.


One passer-by said: "I heard someone say there was a guy with a syringe to his neck."

The council is turning away the public from its London Road offices, although the library remains open.

Simon Williams, Acting Chief Executive of Merton Council, said: "We are cooperating with the police and helping them to solve the situation."

1:56pm today