Ben Thompson, a well-known presenter for BBC Breakfast, has expressed a diminished sense of security in London following a harrowing mugging incident where his £7,000 Rolex watch was violently taken by a group of attackers.
Thompson, aged 45, was returning from a dining experience in Mayfair, London, with his companion, Roja Dove, when they were suddenly accosted by a gang of six men.
The assailants forcefully shoved Mr. Dove to the ground before making off with his Patek Philippe watch, which is valued at an astonishing £150,000 and adorned with diamonds.
Subsequently, three of the attackers seized Thompson, after which the entire group swiftly fled the scene on March 11 of the previous year.
In a victim impact statement, read during the recent sentencing of two gang members, Thompson revealed, “This attack has altered my behavior—I no longer feel secure in London.”
Thompson, who previously served as a Middle East correspondent, further shared, “I find myself feeling anxious and on edge whenever I hear someone jogging or cycling behind me.”
After the robbery he suffered from flashbacks at night and constant anxiety and stress, he said.
The specially engraved watch had been a gift from his partner, Andy Roche to celebrate him turning 40. He now has a scar where it was ripped from his wrist.
BBC Breakfast presenter Ben Thompson says he no longer feels safe in London after his £7,000 Rolex was ripped from his wrist by a gang of muggers
The star, pictured with co host Sally Nugent, says he is nervous and jumpy when he hears a jogger or cyclist approaching behind him while walking in the city he has lived in for two decades
Mr Thompson and his friend, Roja London founder Roja Dove were watched leaving Cecconi’s restaurant in Mayfair by a ‘spotter’ before the violent Algerian muggers approached them
Danis Tom-Deter (left), 36, and Hocine Boulanouar (right), 26, were identified by CCTV
The Old Bailey heard the pair were watched leaving Cecconi’s restaurant in Burlington Gardens, by a ‘spotter’.
Defendants Hocine Boulanouar, 26, and Danis Tom-Deter, 36, were later identified from CCTV.
Mr Dove, 69, who runs luxury perfume house Roja London, said: ‘I have worked hard for everything I have.
‘The watch was a present to myself when I reached the age of 65. The theft of the watch has meant all my hard work has been pointless.’
He also said that the robbery has changed his view of the city used in the name of his company. ‘I feel like my day-to-day behaviour has completely altered, especially when I am in London,’ he said.
‘When I walk through the streets of central London I feel like I am on high alert and I am very nervous. I feel very unsafe in London, a city I have loved my entire life.’
Boulanouar had previously been jailed for five months for street theft and was in breach of a six-month suspended sentence when he targeted Mr Thompson.
The judge, Mr Recorder Jeremy Benson, jailed Boulanouar for four years and three months.
Join the debate
Do you feel safe in London?
Mr Thompson, presenting outside Downing Street, said after the robbery he suffered from flashbacks at night and constant anxiety and stress
Roja Dove, 69, who runs luxury perfume house Roja London, had his £150,000 diamond-encrusted Patek Philippe watch by the gang
He had denied the two charges of robbery and claimed he was nowhere near the scene even though he was seen on CCTV. Tom-Deter admitted both offences and was sentenced to two years and nine months.
‘This was clearly a very frightening experience on the streets of central London at night,’ the judge said. ‘They were set upon and each man was held while their watches were dragged off their wrists.’
Police were unable to confirm the identities of the other four men involved.
Mr Thompson joined the BBC as a graduate trainee and regularly stands in for the main Breakfast presenters.
