This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/09/two-arrested-for-attempted-abduction-of-baby-from-london-hospital

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Two arrested for 'attempted abduction' of baby from London hospital Two arrested for 'attempted abduction' of baby from London hospital
(about 9 hours later)
A man and woman have been arrested after they allegedly attempted to abduct a premature child from London’s Great Ormond Street hospital.A man and woman have been arrested after they allegedly attempted to abduct a premature child from London’s Great Ormond Street hospital.
The pair targeted the premature child after arriving at the hospital with a picture of a baby in an incubator and claimed the baby had been transferred from another London hospital.The pair targeted the premature child after arriving at the hospital with a picture of a baby in an incubator and claimed the baby had been transferred from another London hospital.
Police are also investigating whether the couple also tried to take an infant from the Royal London hospital in a separate incident.
Officers were called on Monday afternoon by staff at Great Ormond Street who said a man and a woman had tried to gain access to a ward and take a premature infant.
The couple are alleged to have shown staff a picture of a baby in an incubator they claimed was theirs, Scotland Yard said. They said the child was born at 21 weeks old at the Royal London, in Whitechapel, east London, on 1 March, before being transferred to the neo-natal unit of Great Ormond Street, the Camden New Journal reported.
After staff searches revealed no information to match this, police were called and the 31-year-old man and 25-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit child abduction.After staff searches revealed no information to match this, police were called and the 31-year-old man and 25-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit child abduction.
Insp Paul Clarke, of the Metropolitan police, said: “The actions of the staff at Great Ormond Street hospital in making all of the necessary checks and the quick response of police in arresting a couple prevented what could have been a very frightening and harrowing incident.” They were bailed and ordered not to enter a hospital unless suffering a medical emergency. The pair will appear in court in mid-April.
Police were called at around 2pm on Monday following a report of someone trying to take the child from the facility. Insp Paul Clarke, of the Metropolitan police, said: “The actions of the staff at Great Ormond Street hospital in making all of the necessary checks and the quick response of police in arresting a couple prevented what could have been a very frightening and harrowing incident.
The man and woman are reported to have told staff the baby was born at 21 weeks at the Royal London hospital, in Whitechapel, east London, on 1 March, before being transferred.
The pair were taken to a central London police station and have been bailed to a date in mid-April.
A spokeswoman for Great Ormond Street said: “Thankfully this type of incident is exceptionally rare. We are pleased that staff at the hospital acted so swiftly and calmly to ensure the safety of all our patients.”A spokeswoman for Great Ormond Street said: “Thankfully this type of incident is exceptionally rare. We are pleased that staff at the hospital acted so swiftly and calmly to ensure the safety of all our patients.”