A 22-year-old woman has been remanded in custody after allegedly threatening security staff with a meat cleaver during a disturbance outside a migrant hotel in Canary Wharf.
Channay Augustus, of Tower Hamlets, appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court today charged with possession of an offensive weapon, affray, assault on an emergency worker, common assault, and possession of cannabis. She pleaded not guilty to all charges except cannabis possession.
The court heard that Augustus, who lives near the Britannia Hotel with her blind mother, confronted security staff on 13 August after claiming a migrant had entered her flat.
Prosecutor Hitesh Saini told the court Augustus was armed with a meat cleaver and threatened Aqib Ahmad, a hotel security guard, and another man, Abdullah Abdi, during the confrontation.
“The female in blue (the defendant) told the security guard: ‘I’m going to come back and stab you with a knife.’ She pulled a meat cleaver from her jacket and started banging it. She then shouted: ‘F***ing asylum seekers’ before threatening to stab him again,” Mr Saini said.
He added that CCTV captured the incident, and Augustus was later arrested at her home. The alleged altercation caused “significant disturbance” outside the hotel, which houses asylum seekers.
A migrant was also arrested earlier today in connection with the incident on suspicion of common assault.
District Judge Jane McIvor said the nature and seriousness of the allegations justified keeping Augustus in custody until her next appearance at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 12 September 2025.
Family members in the public gallery sobbed as Augustus was led away, with the defendant shouting: “I’m killing myself if I’m in those cells.”
