Crime14 August, 20263 min read
Steven Sansom and Adam Watson Charged With Attempted Murder of Urfan Sharif at HMP Belmarsh
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Sansom and Watson charged with attempted murder of Urfan Sharif at Belmarsh on Jan 1, 2025. They also face additional charges related to the Belmarsh incident.
6 outlets told this the same way.
Belmarsh attempted murder charges
Two men, Steven Sansom, 47, and Adam Watson, 39, have been charged with the attempted murder of Urfan Sharif, who is in prison for killing his daughter Sara, after an incident at Belmarsh Prison in London on New Year’s Day last year. The Crown Prosecution Service said the charges were brought in connection with an incident at HMP Belmarsh in January 2025, and Daren Streeter, deputy chief crown prosecutor with CPS London, said the decision was made to bring the case to court.
The BBC reported that Sharif, 43, suffered cuts to his face during the attack and received medical treatment at the prison, while the Independent said Metropolitan Police confirmed he suffered non-life-threatening injuries with cuts to his neck and face. The men are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 26 August for a first hearing, as CPS announced the charges against Sansom and Watson following the prison incident.
Prosecutors and injury details
Daren Streeter told reporters that "Our prosecutors have worked closely with the Metropolitan Police to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and pursue criminal proceedings," framing the charges as the result of evidence gathered with the Met. The Independent said it was understood the charges relate to an incident in which Sharif was allegedly ambushed in a cell at the category A prison by two inmates armed with the jagged lid of a tuna tin on 1 January 2025.
LBC reported that the Metropolitan Police previously said officers were probing "an allegation that a prisoner was assaulted at Belmarsh" and added that "the 43-year-old suffered non life-threatening injuries," while also stating Sharif was attacked in a cell and suffered cuts to his face. The Telegraph similarly described the alleged attack as happening in a cell at HMP Belmarsh, with two inmates armed with the jagged lid of a tuna tin, and said the Met was investigating an allegation that a prisoner was assaulted at Belmarsh.
Aftermath and sentencing context
The attempted murder charge sits alongside the earlier case in which Urfan Sharif and his wife Beinash Batool were sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted at the Old Bailey for murdering 10-year-old Sara Sharif at their home in Woking, Surrey. BBC reported that Urfan Sharif was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison for murder, while his wife Beinash Batool, 30, received a minimum of 33 years, and it also said Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during a "campaign of torture" that lasted two years before her body was found in August 2023.
“It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information which could in anyway prejudice these proceedings.”
Sky News said Mr Justice Cavanagh described Sara’s death as "the culmination of years of neglect, frequent assaults and what can only be described as torture," and it quoted the judge telling Sharif, "You treated her in such a way because you considered it your right to impose harsh discipline on her." As the new case proceeds, CPS London said the defendants’ proceedings are active and they have the right to a fair trial, with LBC quoting CPS’s reminder that it was "vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information which could in anyway prejudice these proceedings."