Police are searching for the boyfriend of reality TV star Ferne McCann over an acid attack in a London nightclub on Monday morning which left 20 people with burns.
Detectives have warned the public not to approach Arthur Collins, 25, and have released two photographs of him, including one taken from CCTV in the Mangle E8 club on the night of the attack. They have also raided an address in Hertfordshire.
In a statement released by a spokeswoman, McCann urged Collins to "cooperate fully with the police and attend a police station immediately". The former The Only Way is Essex (Towie) star added that she was not in the club at the time.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The spokeswoman said: "Ferne is aware that the police wish to speak to Arthur Collins and the nature of the accusations against him.
"Obviously these are highly shocking and Ferne has cooperated with the police in their inquiries."
McCann's former Towie castmates Jamie Reed, Jade Lewis and Chloe Meadows were among the 400 people evacuated from the club at around 1am on Monday. They are not thought to have been injured.
Two men aged 24 and 29 are being treated at a specialist burns unit in Essex.
A witness told the BBC the two men had been left unable to see.
She added that they were "two black guys, but their faces were turned white because of the acid" and that the attack had happened quickly.
"In the space of two minutes people went from dancing to the acid being thrown," she said.
"I was standing by the bar and then I got hit by something that at first felt like water but then my arms started blistering."
"Obviously these are highly shocking and Ferne has co-operated with the police in their inquiries. She was not with Arthur on Sunday night, was not at Mangle, and has no direct knowledge of the events that unfolded.
"As much as anybody she wants to know the truth and urges Arthur to co-operate fully with the police and attend a police station immediately."
Two other men are also wanted for questioning over the incident and CCTV images are currently being reviewed by investigators.
Anyone with information should call police on 101 or to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
What we know about the Copenhagen mall shootingSpeed Read Lone gunman had mental health issues and not thought to have terror motive, police say
-
Texas school shooting: parents turn anger on policeSpeed Read Officers had to be urged to enter building where gunman killed 21 people
-
DJ Tim Westwood denies multiple sexual misconduct allegationsSpeed Read At least seven women accuse the radio and TV presenter of predatory behaviour dating back three decades
-
What happened to Katie Kenyon?Speed Read Man charged as police search for missing 33-year-old last seen getting into van
-
Brooklyn subway shooting: exploring New York’s ‘steep decline in law and order’Speed Read Last week, a gunman set off smoke bombs and opened fire on a rush-hour train in the city
-
How the Capitol attack investigation is splitting the RepublicansSpeed Read Vote to censure two Republican representatives has revealed deep divisions within party
-
Is sentencing a Nazi sympathiser to read Shakespeare an appropriate punishment?Speed Read Judge seemed to think introducing student ‘to high culture’ would ‘magically make him a better person’ said The Daily Telegraph
-
Sarah Everard’s murder: a national reckoning?Speed Read Wayne Couzen’s guilty plea doesn’t ‘tidy away the reality of sexual violence’
