{"id":461134,"date":"2026-03-06T18:09:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/461134\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T18:09:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T18:09:15","slug":"bbc-breakfast-presenter-ben-thompson-no-longer-feels-safe-in-london-after-7k-rolex-ripped-from-wrist-in-violent-robbery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/461134\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Breakfast presenter Ben Thompson ‘no longer feels safe in London’ after \u00a37K Rolex ripped from wrist in violent robbery"},"content":{"rendered":"

BBC Breakfast<\/a> presenter Ben Thompson<\/a> has said he no longer feels safe in London after being violently attacked for his \u00a37,000 Rolex.<\/p>\n

The broadcaster and a friend were targeted by a gang of six men as they left a restaurant in Mayfair last year.<\/p>\n

The group set upon them and stole their watches, ripping Thompson\u2019s Rolex, a birthday gift from his partner that had been custom engraved, from his wrist.<\/p>\n

The assault left the presenter with a scar and lingering anxiety. His friend, luxury perfumer Roja Dove, was also attacked.<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n

Ben Thompson said he no longer feels safe in London after a violent theft (BBC)<\/p>\n

The 69-year-old was knocked to the ground before his diamond-encrusted Patek Philippe, said to be worth around \u00a3150,000, was taken during the robbery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two members of the gang were later identified through CCTV footage and sentenced at the Old Bailey.<\/p>\n

In a victim impact statement, Thompson said the incident had significantly affected his sense of safety in the capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter this attack my behaviour has changed \u2013 I no longer feel safe in London,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Thompson added that the experience has left him feeling constantly on edge in public spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am nervous and jumpy when I hear a jogger or cyclist approaching behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dove said: \u201cI have worked hard for everything I have. The watch was a present to myself when I reached the age of 65. The theft of the watch has meant all my hard work has been pointless.<\/p>\n

\"Thompson<\/p>\n

Thompson said the incident had significantly affected his sense of safety in the capital (Instagram\/Ben Thompson)<\/p>\n

Echoing Thompson\u2019s sentiments, Dove admitted the incident has left him shaken on the streets of London.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWhen I walk through the streets of central London I feel like I am on high alert and I am very nervous. I feel very unsafe in London, a city I have loved my entire life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like my day-to-day behaviour has completely altered, especially when I am in London\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n

The pair had reportedly been followed after leaving Cecconi\u2019s restaurant in Mayfair in March last year before being confronted by the group.<\/p>\n

Hocine Boulanouar, 26, denied two counts of robbery but was convicted and sentenced to four years and three months in prison.<\/p>\n

A second defendant, Danis Tom-Deter, 36, admitted the offences and received a sentence of two years and three months.<\/p>\n

Sentencing the pair, the judge said: \u201cThis was clearly a very frightening experience on the streets of central London at night. They were set upon and each man was held while their watches were dragged off their wrists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The theft comes amid a luxury theft crimewave in London<\/a>, with more than \u00a322 million of luxury watches<\/a>, handbags and jewellery stolen by thieves across London<\/a> in two years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BBC Breakfast presenter Ben Thompson has said he no longer feels safe in London after being violently attacked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2515,91679,63355,96,59,388,165672,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-461134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-bbc-breakfast","9":"tag-ben-thompson","10":"tag-central-london","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-gb","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-roja-dove","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}