GMB weatherman Alex Beresford speaks out after his cousin was killed in Fulham stabbing: Nobody wins, everybody loses

Good Morning Britain weatherman Alex Beresford tells how 'young black boys do have a choice to go the other way'
Olivia Tobin20 March 2019

Good Morning Britain weatherman Alex Beresford has said “nobody wins, everybody loses” after his cousin was knifed to death in a street in west London.

Mr Beresford’s cousin Nathaniel Armstrong was the latest victim of London’s knife epidemic after he was stabbed to death in Fulham on Saturday morning.

The 29-year-old’s death tragically came days after Mr Beresford delivered a passionate speech on air about knife-related violence.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Mr Beresford said: “Nobody wins, everybody loses in these situations and that’s why it needs to be fixed.”

Mr Beresford said he had been through "an emotional roller coaster" since Mr Armstrong was fatally stabbed.

@GMB

He said: "We also buried our uncle yesterday so it’s been a lot of ups and downs. No one would have expected it, especially after I spoke out. You couldn’t make it up. It’s come as a big surprise that it’s happened to Nathaniel…he is 29, not in a gang, he went to a good school, university.

"He was a big guy. He was like 6’6”, 6’7”, when you spoke to him you were literally looking up.

"I guess on the outside some people could have been intimidated by him but he wasn’t that person – everyone said he was a big friendly giant. For this to happen to him, everyone was quite shocked. He wasn’t really a fighter, he was someone who would talk his way out of something.”

The weatherman pointed out knife crime wasn’t just a “black on black problem” in London and said knife crime was a “problem up and down the UK in lots of different communities”.

He said: “It’s a very small demographic of boys that this is happening to, when we talk about black boys. There are so many positive role models out there that unfortunately we don’t get to see.

“So I understand why people will look and it and say ‘this is a black problem’. It’s not”.

Mr Beresford shared an image of he and his friends who he said were examples of success.

He said: “99 per cent of my friends are black. This is my group of brothers here, my nearest and dearest and there’s CEOs, accountants and people that own their own businesses.

“We are a successful group of brothers who have grown up in similar environments and I think the key thing is that there is a choice. These boys do have a choice as well, you can go the other way.”

Mr Beresford added that anyone could be affected by knife crime.

Victim: Nathaniel Armstrong, 29
Facebook

He said: "It literally can happen to anybody. That’s why I was saying on the show, it is about environment and not just one environment, it’s about changing everything.

"Poverty, we have not solved that, this is why a lot of people are finding themselves in these situations…something just needs to be done.

"I can’t always find the words right now…I think this happening only reaffirms what I was saying about the environment and also about prisons and that they are not always a deterrent.”

On whether bigger prison sentences would be effective, he added: “There are some people that will be deterred by a bigger sentence but for lots of boys that are committing these crimes, they don’t care.

"If you are prepared to pick up a knife and stab someone, or risk your own life, you are prepared to give your life, it’s not a deterrent.”

Police at the scene after the stabbing in Fulham 
PA

Co-presenter Susanna Reid also asked Mr Beresford if his family had heard any update into the police investigation.

He replied to say the family “don’t know a great deal” and the suspect “can’t be found at the moment”.

He added: "We need to think about the other side of this. This person who has done this to my cousin, he has also ruined his life, the ripple effect goes wider, it affects his family as well and that’d why we need to fix this problem from both sides. That’s why I have said before: ‘Nobody wins, everybody loses in these situations’”.

Detective Chief Inspector Glen Lloyd, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command has made a plea for information that may assist the investigation.

Good Morning Britain weather presenter Alex Beresford paid tribute to his cousin Nathaniel Armstrong, 'a bright young man' stabbed to death in Fulham
Ian West/PA

He said: "I am still eager to hear from anyone who was in the area of Gowan Avenue shortly after midnight on Saturday.

“Any information you have could be vital in establishing what happened that night.

"My team is particularly keen to trace a male who was seen near the scene at the time of the incident.

“He was described as a light-skinned black male, approximately 6ft tall with facial hair on his cheeks and a moustache.

“He was wearing a brown bomber style jacket and following the stabbing he left the scene in the direction of Fulham Road.

"Did you see him? Do you know who he is? Anyone with information on his identity or whereabouts is urged to contact police."

Enquiries including forensic analysis and the review of local CCTV footage at the time of the incident continue.

There have been no arrests.

Any witnesses, or anyone with information, is asked to call the police incident room on 0208 358 0100. To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. You can also tweet police via @MetCC.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT