A disturbing scene unfolded in a South London park as a group of masked teenagers clashed violently with machetes. This alarming incident took place in Burgess Park, Camberwell, during lunchtime, as the youths attempted to stab and slash each other in the open, under the clear light of day.
Such incidents continue to challenge the perception of safety in London, a city often described by Mayor Sadiq Khan as ‘safe.’ Despite these claims, the reality on the ground tells a different story, with visible acts of violence like this one punctuating the cityscape.
Earlier this year, Mayor Khan highlighted statistics indicating that homicides had fallen to record lows, using this data to commend his administration’s policing efforts. However, a deeper dive into crime statistics reveals a troubling rise in various criminal activities, including violent assaults, since he assumed office in 2016.
The incident in Burgess Park, captured on video, shows a teenager aggressively attempting to stab another, with an onlooker shouting encouragement to “stab him.” Such scenes of violence are becoming increasingly visible, raising questions about the effectiveness of current safety measures in the city.
However, a closer look at the data shows that a range of crimes, including violent assaults, have dramatically increased since he came to power in 2016.
Yesterday’s footage shows a teenager trying to stab and slash another as an onlooker screams ‘stab him.’
A third masked boy then restrains one of their opponents on the floor for several seconds, allowing a knifeman to try and stab him repeatedly.
A bystander then steps in forcing the two attackers to run away, while the teenager who was wrestled to the floor gets onto a scooter and rides off.
The scene was filmed by terrified locals, and later posted on social media with the caption: ‘This is London.’
Video shared on social media showed three teens carrying machetes fighting in Burgess Park, Camberwell
One of the teens can be seen restraining a boy while a friend tries to stab him in broad daylight
The Metropolitan Police said four teenagers have been arrested over the incident in Camberwell, one of whom had taken himself to hospital for treatment for his injuries.
A force spokesperson said: ‘Police were called at around 12.30pm on Sunday, May 17 to reports of an altercation in Burgess Park, Camberwell.
‘Officers attended and searched the area with the assistance of the police helicopter. Four boys, aged 16 and 17, were arrested on suspicion of offences including affray, causing grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.
‘Three boys were arrested near the scene, while a fourth was arrested later on Sunday evening. All four boys remain in police custody.
‘Two of the boys who were arrested were reported to have suffered injuries in the incident, which were not life-threatening or life-changing.
‘One, a 17-year-old boy, self-presented at hospital for treatment to wounds and was discharged later that afternoon, following which he was arrested at a property in Southwark.
‘The second boy, a 16-year-old, was taken to hospital by police and was later discharged.
‘The investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD 3298/17MAY or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.’
The Mayor boasted in March that homicide rates were at their lowest since records began and pointed out that there had been a decline in 2025 in incidents of phone-snatching, for which the capital has become notorious in recent years.
However, a closer look at the data shows that a range of crimes, including theft from the person, sex offences, drugs and violent crime, have dramatically increased from when Sir Sadiq first came to power in 2016.
Theft from the person has increased by 140 per cent from 35,570 in 2016/17 to 85,465 in 2025/26. In 2024/25, the year Sir Sadiq was re-elected, it had even skyrocketed to 101,053.
Elsewhere, sexual offences have risen by 55 per cent from 17,491 in 2016/17 to 27,074 in 2025/26.
Drug offences have risen by 34 per cent from 40,652 in 2016/17 to 54,291 in 2025/26.
And violence against the person has soared by 51,086 incidents 27 per cent from 191,691 in 2016/17 to 242,777 in 2025/26.
The figures, based only on crimes reported to the Metropolitan Police, do not factor in how London’s population has grown over the same time.
Official estimates suggest the capital’s headcount has risen from 8.7m in 2016, the year Sir Sadiq was elected, to just shy of 9.1million in 2024 – the most recent year.
Sir Sadiq’s staunch defence of London came on the same day that young mobs in Clapham were attacking emergency workers and looting shops.
A similar incident took place on Saturday, when shopkeepers were forced to barricade their doors after nearly 100 teenagers stormed shops, including a Marks & Spencer store on Clapham High Street.
M&S retail director Thinus Keeve has blamed the London mayor for failing to tackle crime as he demanded answers after his staff and customers came under attack from by mobs of youths.
‘I keep hearing crime is falling, especially in London – something none of us believes, and very few people working in retail would see,’ Mr Keeve said.
‘In fact, we see the absolute opposite in our high streets and in our stores.’
Footage from the attacks showed hundreds of young people, many dressed in all black, surging into shops in Clapham, south London, in coordinated ‘link-ups’ organised through social media.
He said similar incidents had been seen ‘across the country’ but that ‘it is worse in London’.
‘Without a government seriously cracking down on crime and a mayor who prioritises effective policing, we are powerless.’
Meanwhile crime on the Transport for London (TfL) network is increasing under Sir Sadiq – with more incidents of violence, public disorder and a huge rise in vandalism.
The London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee said that 48,000 crimes were reported across TfL services in 2025 – up 46 per cent against a pre-pandemic average of 16,544 amid ‘unacceptable’ levels of violence against women and girls.
Some 12,951 offences on the Tube were recorded between July and December 2025 – an increase of 2.7 per cent from 12,606 in the same period in 2024.
This included a 152 per cent rise in offences of criminal damage, up from 947 to 2,390 incidents amid an ongoing graffiti epidemic on the Underground.
Some 24,565 offences were recorded across all TfL services in July and December 2025 – up 57 on the 24,508 in the same period in 2024.
In March, a group of foul-mouthed teenagers sparked a terrifying brawl inside an Elizabeth line train carriage after a middle-aged passenger asked them to stop vaping, before the melee spilled out onto the platform at Stratford in East London.
But Sir Sadiq hailed data release by the Metropolitan Police in January which showed homicide in London had fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade.
It said some 97 homicides were recorded in 2025, the lowest level since 2014, at a rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people – lower than New York (2.8), Toronto (1.6) and Milan (1.6).
Sir Sadiq used the figures to justify an attack on those who ‘talk down our capital for their own political gain’ – but the Tories accused him of ‘gaslighting’ Londoners about the true extent of crime.
US President Trump, a frequent critic of Sir Sadiq whom he has called a ‘terrible mayor’, has made a series of claims about London, including saying crime is ‘through the roof’ and that the city wants to ‘go to sharia law’.
However Sir Sadiq responded by saying: ‘A lot of this misinformation, disinformation and lies comes from the United States of America. It’s really important to counter the propaganda coming from President Trump.’
But a White House spokesperson, responding to Sir Sadiq’s remarks, said: ‘Left-wing policies… have made once-great cities like London unrecognisable.’
