London Police Foil Spencean Assassination Plot

On this day the Bow Street Runners, London’s first professional police force, arrested a group of conspirators, known to be Spencean Philanthropists, who were accused of plotting to murder the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, and all his cabinet ministers during a dinner at the home of Lord Harrowby. The conspirators were unaware that one of their key members, George Edwards, was a police spy and that Lord Harrowby’s dinner was a mere invention to trap them. During the arrest, Arthur Thistlewood, the leader of the conspirators, killed the Bow Street Runner, Richard Smithers, with his sword. Initially the conspirators were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason (a medieval punishment), but in the end the leaders were hanged and beheaded and the rest were transported to penal colonies in Australia.

Puoi trovare altre brevi notizie storiche QUI

---

Your comments are always very welcome.

---