Silence at rugby game to honour ‘truly remarkable’ sergeant shot dead inside police station

Two minute round of applause held at Nottingham rugby club

Tributes to sergeant Matiu Ratana are seen outside Croydon Custody Centre on Sunday (Getty Images)

Colleagues, friends and teammates of Matiu Ratana, the police sergeant killed by a handcuffed suspect in a custody suite, will pay silent tribute to him two days after his untimely death.

Ratana, originally from New Zealand, has been hailed as a “father figure” and “role model” by those that knew him. 

The 54-year-old sergeant, known more commonly as Matt, was heavily involved in club rugby, prompting his former teammates at East Grinstead Rugby Club to plan a minute’s silence before matches begin on Sunday morning.

Matt Marriot, vice-chairman of the club, said there had been "enormous" interest in two planned one-minute silences, with people "from all over the country" expected to pay their respects.

He told BBC Breakfast: "I've actually never met anybody quite like Matt, he must have been an incredible policeman. His attention to detail and his strive for perfection, his work ethic, just blew all of us away."

He added: "He wasn't just a coach to the players. He was a role model, a mentor, and often actually a father figure. We're going to mourn him as a family member. He's left a big hole, to be honest."

London Irish, another club Ratana played for and later coached at, similarly paid their respects to the police officer by releasing a statement in honour of him. 

“Matt was an integral part of the Bs for many years - he features in the memories of many of us whether it be from our tours to the likes of Sicily, Catatonia and Marbella, on the pitch or in the bar sharing stories,” the club’s chairman Kevin Flynn said, before adding: “He was a true gent and dedicated police officer and will leave a gap in our hearts on and off the field.”

Similar reports of clubs across the UK paying respects to the sergeant continue to be shared on Twitter and other social media platforms. Notably, Long Eaton Rugby Club, based in Nottingham, posted that its players had held a two minute round of applause for Ratana before play resumed on Sunday morning.

A minute's silence was also held at New Scotland Yard and Croydon Police Station to pay tribute to Ratana, who joined the police force in 1991. 

Met commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said Ratana “was big in stature and big-hearted, a friendly, capable police officer. A lovely man, highly respected by officers and staff, and by the public, including suspects he arrested or dealt with in custody".

Dame Dick also said: “He was very well known locally and will be remembered so fondly in Croydon, as well as in the Met and the rugby world."

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern followed suit, sharing a Facebook post dedicated to Ratana’s service and life.

Also on Sunday, the Prince of Wales will lead tributes to fallen police officers for National Police Memorial Day (NPMD), honouring those who have lost their lives on duty.

Investigators probing the fatal shooting are working with a "determination to find justice" for their fallen colleague, the officer leading the murder case said.

The suspect in the killing, which took place at Croydon Custody Centre in south London at around 2.15am on Friday, remains in a critical condition in hospital.

The 23-year-old, who also shot himself, had still not been spoken to by officers on Saturday evening due to his condition.

Meanwhile there has been a public outcry for the suspect to be named, with some Twitter users branding it “an outrage” that his name had not yet been released to the media and general public. 

“Surely if he’s named the public might have info that could help the investigation,” one user wrote.

Police are said to be "painstakingly" searching four crime scenes in connection with the killing, including the custody suite where the incident unfolded and the site at which the suspect was arrested in Norbury for possession of ammunition and class B drugs.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which attended the scene after the shooting, said the suspect had been taken into the building and sat in a holding area in the custody suite, then opened fire while still in handcuffs as officers prepared to search him with a metal detector.

No police firearms were fired in the incident, it has been confirmed, and the case is not being treated as terror-related.

Ratana leaves behind a partner and a grown-up son. He had moved into custody work because he thought it was safer as he approached retirement, a friend told reporters.

He is the eighth police officer in the UK to be shot dead in the last 20 years and the first to be murdered by a firearm in the line of duty since Pcs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in September 2012.

The Met sergeant is the 17th from the force to be killed by a firearm since the end of the Second World War, according to the National Police Memorial roll of honour.

Additional reporting by agencies

[27 September 2020 17:25 · Gino Spocchia]

RBG must be ‘turning in grave’, says Schumer

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the US Senate, gave a speech last night opposing the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court – warning that “just about every American will be hurt” by her conservative views.

However, despite his vow he will “strongly, strongly, strongly” oppose her nomination, Mr Schumer and his party currently have little hope of stopping her nomination, with only two Republicans saying they will oppose voting on a nominee before the 3 November election. 

In his speech, Mr Schumer ran through a list of areas where he said Ms Barrett would roll back protections that guaranteed basic rights, safety, and a better standard of living. “

Judge Barrett herself strongly criticised the ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “She stated that if justices read the law the way she does, they would have to invalidate the healthcare law that protects Americans.

Chris Riotta has the full story: 

[27 September 2020 17:07 · Gino Spocchia]

Biden ahead in North Carolina, says poll

Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump by just two points amongst likely voters in North Carolina, with the Democratic nominee on 48 per cent, compared to the president’s 46 per cent. 

Mr Trump won the crucial swing state in 2016, with a  3.6 per cent margin over then candidate Hillary Clinton.

The CBS/YouGov poll, published on Sunday, however showed Mr Biden trailing in Georgia and South Carolina.

[27 September 2020 16:54 · Gino Spocchia]

New York sees three-month high in virus cases

For the first time since 5 June, more than 1,000 New Yorkers tested positive for Covid-19 in a single day on Friday.  

Positive cases in the state have been rising steadily over the last few weeks, according to ABC7. The rise may be attributed to the reopening of businesses and schools.  

The state was seeing an average of approximately 660 people test positive each day. The state reported it had averaged 817 positive tests per day in the seven-day period that ended Friday.

"It's vital that New Yorkers continue to practice the basic behaviors that drive our ability to fight COVID-19 as we move into the fall and flu season," said governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday. “Wearing masks, socially distancing and washing hands make a critical difference,”

Graig Graziosi reports: 

[27 September 2020 16:36 · Gino Spocchia]

Biden “ready” for debate with Trump, says wife

Asked whether or not her husband was ready to debate Donald Trump on Tuesday night, Jill Biden told CNN: “Oh my gosh, yes, he’s ready,” 

Speaking from Norfolk, Virginia, Ms Biden said she was excited for "the American people [to] see Joe Biden up there on that stage. They're going to see what a President looks like" 

“It’s like night and day between the two candidates,” she added, before denying claims the Democratic presidential nominee was prone to verbal slip-ups on stage - a critique used by the US president. 

“After Donald Trump you cannot even say the world gaffe”. 

[27 September 2020 16:17 · Gino Spocchia]

Senate hearings on Supreme Court nomination to start 22 October

Lindsay Graham has confirmed that the process to confirm Donald Trump’s nomination to the Supreme Court will begin on 22 October, setting up a full Senate vote before the end of the month.

"So, we'll start on October 12, and more than half of the Supreme Court justices who have had hearings were done within 16 days or less," Mr Graham, the chairman of the Senate’s judiciary committee, told Fox News on Sunday. 

"We'll have a day of introduction. We'll have two days of questioning, Tuesday and Wednesday, and on the 15th we'll begin to markup, we'll hold it over for a week, and we'll report her nomination out of the committee on October 22."

"Then it will be up to (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell as to what to do with the nomination once it comes out of committee," added the Repbublican.

[27 September 2020 16:04 · Gino Spocchia]

White House staff discussed Trump disputing election outcome, says ex-aide

White House staff discussed the issue of president Donald Trump refusing to accept the results of the upcoming election were he to lose power in November, according to a former aide of vice president Mike Pence.

Olivia Troye, former counterterrorism and homeland security adviser to the vice president and an ex-member of the White House coronavirus response task force, warned Americans to take the president at his word when he did not commit to a peaceful transition of power during a press briefing last week.

“You know, the president, when he's joking – if he says that he's joking, he's telling you a half-truth and in there is something fairly frightening and scary,” Ms Troye told CNN’s Wolfe Blitzer in an interview on Friday. “What you see is what you get … you should trust that. He doesn’t hide it.”

Chris Riotta has the full story: 

[27 September 2020 15:53 · Gino Spocchia]

…and another former Republican governor endorses Biden

Tom Ridge, the former Republican governor of Pennsylvania, has announced his endorsement of the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, for president.

 Writing in an op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, the ex-homeland security secretary who served under George W. Bush, said he would be voting Democrat for the first time on 3 November. 

Mr Ridge is one of three former Republican governors from swing states that have endorsed Mr Biden over the US president, Donald Trump, joining former Ohio governor John Kasich and Michigan’s Rick Snyder.

“Donald Trump has proven over these last four years he is incapable of such leadership. It is not within him,” explains Mr Ridge in the op-ed. “He sows division along political, racial and religious lines. And he routinely dismisses the opinions of experts who know far more about the subject at hand than he does — intelligence, military, and public health.” 

The Republican adds: "Our country has paid dearly in lives lost, social unrest, economic hardship and our standing in the world."

[27 September 2020 15:36 · Gino Spocchia]

Dwayne Johnson endorses Biden-Harris, says senator a “certified badass”

In his first ever presidential endorsement, the American actor Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson has endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his vice-presidential nominee, Kamala Harris,  for president.

In a video shared online on Sunday, the 48-year-old appeared in a video call with the 2020 Democratic ticket, who he said was “ready to lead”.

Whilst praising’s Mr Biden’s long political career, Mr Johnson said of  the California senator that her background as a state attorney, district attorney and lawmaker proved she was a “certified badass”.

Here’s the clip:

[27 September 2020 15:04 · Gino Spocchia]

Trump and Biden prepare for the first debate

…and it probably isn’t by taking a drug test. 

Instead, the two candidates are promising a stark contrast in policy personality and preparation on Tuesday, in the first live televised debate of the 2020 election. 

The 90-minute event moderated by Fox News host Chris Wallace is the first of three scheduled presidential debates, with vice president Mike Pence and California senator Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's running mate, also set to debate in October.

“I’m sure the president will throw everything he can at [Biden]. My guess is that they’re preparing for that - bombarding him with insults and weird digressions,” said Jay Carney, a former aide to Mr Biden and President Barack Obama.

“I think it's an important moment — I think it’s really important for President Trump, because the direction of this election has been pretty stable for a long time now, and he needs to shake it up as any candidate would who’s behind," Mr Carney added. “The question is, can that work?"

[27 September 2020 14:48 · Gino Spocchia]

Trump demands Biden take drug test before Tuesday’s debate

With two days to go until the first televised debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the president has demanded - once again - that the Democratic presidential nominee take a drug test, saying he’ll take one too. 

He said almost a month ago that Mr Biden “on some kind of an enhancement,” in an interview with Fox News.  "He’s on some kind of an enhancement in my opinion," claimed the president, without any basis.