Alex Lanning jailed for murder of Tashan Daniel in Hillingdon

Tashan Daniel, 20, had been on his way to see Arsenal take on Nottingham Forest in the third round of the Carabao Cup when he was murdered on the afternoon of September 24 last year.

Knifeman Alex Lanning, 22, who worked at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden, and his co-defendant Jonathan Camille, 19, had been on the opposite platform at Hillingdon Station as Mr Daniel and his friend Treyone Campbell waited for their train.

Lanning, from Uxbridge, who had been on licence for a previous knife attack in Brighton, decided to pick a fight after accusing the victim and Mr Campbell of “looking at him” across the tracks.

Alex Lanning (wearing a cap) on his way to Tashan Daniel (in an Arsenal top) at Hillingdon station. Credit: BTP

The two defendants allegedly got angry when Mr Daniel told him to “be quiet and get on your train” when Lanning had asked him aggressively: “What are you looking at?”

During the fight, Lanning pulled out a 5.5 inch blade used by the German military to cut through vehicle windows and seat belts and stabbed Mr Daniel once to the chest.

The whole incident lasted just 34 seconds.

Alex Lanning and Jonathan Camille. Credit: British Transport Police

The Old Bailey heard that Lanning stabbed Mr Daniel with a knife which had a serrated edge and a hook, and was designed to be used by fighter pilots to cut the tough Perspex glass out of jets.

The BBC reported that Lanning claimed in court he had stolen the knife from the Fast & Furious film set in Leavesden.

But the BBC reported the property master for F9, the ninth main instalment in the Fast & Furious film franchise, was certain the knife Lanning used to kill Mr Daniel was not from the set.

It was said in court this was because the knife was manufactured by a company the studios does not use and because knives for use on set would be blunted.

It was also said that Lanning, who was on license for a previous stabbing in Brighton, worked at the Leavesden studios unloading and cleaning trucks.

The knife used to kill Tashan Daniel. Credit: BTP

Tashan Daniel. Credit: PA/family handout

Police at Hillingdon station after the murder. Credit: SWNS

To try and cover up what they had done, the court heard Lanning and Camille removed and hid their blood-stained clothes in a nearby housing estate.

They stole and wore women’s pyjamas from a washing line, hoping to hide their identities, even going to the extent of wearing towels on their heads when approaching CCTV cameras.

The serrated knife used to murder Mr Daniel was found hidden under a paving slab in the same housing estate where Lanning and Camille hid their clothes.

Lanning was forensically linked to the weapon.

After ten days, Lanning and Camille were identified, arrested and charged with murder.

Jailing Lanning for a minimum of 25 years for murder and Camilla six-and-a-half years for manslaughter, Judge Mark Dennis QC said: "This was a disgraceful display of violence for which there was no possible justification or excuse.

"You are both comparatively young men however you are both old enough and mature enough to know what you were doing and to make your own choices."

When Lanning and Camille were convicted, Mr Daniel's father, Chandy, said: "That life, that prospect, that future, was cruelly and needlessly taken away on the afternoon of September 24 2019.

"On that day a man, who let's not forget, already held a conviction for stabbing someone else, was free to walk around with a murderous weapon in his possession.

"That same convicted criminal was able to choose to cross a bridge and a platform for absolutely no reason to confront our innocent son.

"It is in no doubt, nor has it ever been, that this was a senseless, needless, horrific and ultimately unnecessary act of violence. One that our family shall be paying for for the rest of our lives."

The father of Tashan Daniel, Chandy Daniel, alongside mother Cecia Daniel (right) and sister Oceanna Daniel (left), speaking outside the Old Bailey following the conviction. Credit: PA

Describing the last moments of his son's life, he said: "As parents, we had to watch in disbelief as the paramedics worked on our son's lifeless body on that platform at Hillingdon - a platform which we will never feel able to use again.

"I held him, stroked his face, and kissed him, as he lay on that platform, only to be told by the paramedics that there was nothing more that they could do for him.

"My wife - his mother - collapsed at the news, unable to comprehend what was happening to our darling boy."

Tashan Daniel

When Mr Daniel, died a campaign was launched to introduce a statutory minimum sentence for those found carrying a knife.

Nick Marr, a cousin of Tashan, is a former police officer and one of the members running the campaign. He believes that people have become "desensitised" to knife crime and that politicians, authorities and regular people need to refocus and discuss how to best tackle it.

He said in November last year: “We held a vigil at Hillingdon Station where around 1,000 of us showed up. I made a really passionate speech there after seeing is body, and I said, ‘enough is enough’ and the speech really resonated with the crowd.

“We want to raise awareness of knife crime and push legislation. Our message is to get the streets safe, because whatever the authorities are doing now - it’s not working. Politicians have gotten their eye off the ball.

“I’m hoping that good can come out of it. We need to concentrate, with the right people to get people to focus on solutions. There should be dramatic action, otherwise we’ll get to the point where we’re too scared to go on the tube."

Flowers left on the platform at Hillingdon station. Credit: SWNS

After the stabbing, Boris Johnson visited and spoke with the family to discuss knife crime, where he admitted there has been a huge increase since he was mayor of London.

Nathan Miebai, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Tashan Daniel's life was brutally cut short by Alex Lanning and Jonathan Camille in a senseless fatal stabbing in front of horrified commuters. CCTV captured them laughing as they fled the scene before discarding their blood-stained clothing in a nearby housing estate. 

"They had no regard for his life, the pain they caused his family or the trauma of those who witnessed the fatal incident. Today, they have received lengthy sentences for robbing a young man of his life and bright future.

"I want to thank the prosecution team and witnesses in securing this conviction which sends a clear message about the consequences of knife crime."