Police appeal to public for Clapham chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi | London

The Met has issued a new appeal to the public as the search for suspected chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi enters its third day.

Ezedi, 35, from the Newcastle area, was on the go since the attack on Wednesday and is described as having very “significant injuries to the right side of his face”. On Saturday night, police said he had not been confirmed since 9pm on the night of the attack.

'Vulnerable' woman and her daughters injured after caustic lye thrown at them in Clapham South London.

The 31-year-old mother, believed to be known to Ezedi, remained in hospital in a serious but stable condition with life-changing injuries, police said.

The injuries to her daughters, aged three and eight, are “unlikely to be life-changing”. The injured, along with passers-by and police officers who tried to help, were taken to the hospital.

Metropolitan Police Commander John Savell told reporters on Friday that “significant and important evidence” had been found during searches in east London and Newcastle on Thursday night.

Two empty containers with signs of corrosion were found at an address in Newcastle.

Savel added on Saturday: “The investigation team has received dozens of calls and is working with a large number of police services and other agencies.

“Two addresses in East London and three in Newcastle were searched. Today we are releasing footage of officers attending an address in Newcastle where empty containers were found with corrosion warnings on the labels.

“Forensic tests are currently being carried out to see if the containers contained the substance used in the attack.”

Savel also urged the public to “remain vigilant” and contact the police immediately if they saw Ezedi or have information about him.

Ezedi tried to drive away from the scene, crashing into a parked car before fleeing on foot, police said. He got on the tube at Clapham South tube station and was at King's Cross tube station by 8pm.

At 8.42pm, Ezedi was caught on CCTV at the Tesco branch on Caledonian Road, photographed with “quite significant facial trauma”, where he bought a bottle of water. He then boarded a southbound Victoria Metro train at 9pm, the last confirmed sighting.

Savel said to Ezedi, “Abdul, you have obviously suffered very significant injuries. We have seen the images. You need medical help, so do the right thing and turn yourself in.'

Ezedi, reportedly from Afghanistan, was convicted in 2018 of sexual assault and exposure and was granted refugee status in 2021 or 2022. British government officials believed he was an Afghan national who arrived by truck in 2016.

His brother Hassan told the Sun he would hand over the suspect if he knew his whereabouts and urged him to surrender. “I don't know if he is alive or where he is now. I saw him briefly last week. He didn't live with me. He was in Newcastle,” he told the newspaper.

A number of Conservative MPs as questioned how he was granted refugee status despite two previous failed attempts and convictions. It is known that he was allowed to stay in the UK after a priest confirmed that he had converted to Christianity.

The Rt Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn, has disputed former immigration minister Robert Jerrick's suggestion that people making “bogus asylum claims” are being helped by “well-meaning but naive vicars and priests”.

North told BBC Radio 4's PM program on Friday: “I've made quite a few confirmations in this diocese, maybe 30 or 40, mostly Iranian men seeking asylum. The preparation for this was carried out very deeply by the parish clergy, who knew these people well.

“You can't look into someone's soul, not see what's going on in the depths of the soul. But you can see that they have integrated into the church, practice their faith and have been confirmed.”

He added: “The church is not the asylum authority, the responsibility for providing asylum lies with the government and it sounds to me like a pretty blatant attempt to pass responsibility for the failure of the asylum system onto the church.”

The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle said it had “found nothing” to suggest Ezedi had converted to Catholicism, but checks are ongoing.

It said: “We can confirm that Abdul Shakur Ezedi has visited our diocesan refugee project, Justice and Peace, a charity that helps a wide range of people who come to us in need.

“We are in the process of verifying whether this person has been converted to the Catholic faith in any of our parishes and have not yet found anything to support this. We also find out whether they helped him in other ways.

“The Diocese will assist the police investigation in any way possible.”