Fugitive murder suspect recaptured

A murder suspect who escaped from a psychiatric hospital has been caught by police, Scotland Yard said tonight.

John Claydon, who went on the run from Springfield Hospital in south London, was arrested in Twickenham this afternoon.

He is accused of killing Ben Foster, 22, who died in Bath in April.

Mr Foster's mother Clare Wallace said yesterday that Claydon would not have escaped if he had been remanded in prison.

He fled the psychiatric hospital in Wandsworth on Tuesday night, sparking a nationwide manhunt.

Mrs Wallace said: "I am concerned that, given the severity of the charges he faces, he was not detained securely. In my view, if he had remained on remand in prison, he would not be at large now."

Claydon went on the run with a second man, John Slavin, 44, who remains at large.

Members of the public should not approach him, police said. He is white, around 6ft 3in and thin, with dark hair and a goatee beard.

Slavin has tattoos on his left hand and arm and has been known to spend time in Kensington and Chelsea, west London, as well as Aberdeen.

He has been charged with aggravated burglary and is on remand to Southwark Crown Court.