Philip Spence guilty of Cumberland Hotel hammer attacks

A man who beat three sisters with a hammer as they slept with their young children in a hotel has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Philip Spence, 32, bludgeoned the trio from the United Arab Emirates in the Cumberland Hotel, in Marble Arch, on 6 April.

Spence, from Harlesden in north-west London, was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, as was Thomas Efremi, 57, from Islington, at Southwark Crown Court.

BBC London's Home Affairs Correspondent Guy Smith spoke to Cdr Mak Chishty, from the Met Police, and Martin Couchman, from the British Hospitality Association.
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