Crime & Safety
New Witney cafe opening date announced for next week
Opera Cafe first teased the opening of its second branch in a shopping centre in Witney in February, and quick progress has been made on the launch.
The business first opened its doors in Jericho in 2015 with the goal of bringing ‘the wonderful Mediterranean flavours to Oxford’.
READ MORE: Oxford – Paedophile jailed for sexually abusing girl 25 years ago
Now, more than a decade later, the signs for its second shop in Marriots Walk, Witney, have gone up.
Marriotts Walk in Witney (Image: Ed Nix)
It will officially open its doors to the public next week on Tuesday, April 7.
A soft launch on Monday (April 6) will see any customers popping in to try it out get 50 per cent off, all day.
Opera Cafe said in a statement: “The sign is up and the countdown is officially on.
“We’re excited to announce the official open date for Opera Cafe Witney on Tuesday, April 7.
“We would love to meet as many of you as possible so tell your friends.
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“It’s been a collaboration and a journey to get here, we cannot wait to welcome you all in.”
Signage put up by Oxfordshire-based Trademark Signs shows stylish green frontage with the Opera brand’s signature gold lettering.
The existing brand in Walton Street, Jericho, in Oxford, serves up breakfast and brunch, wraps, soups, salads and toasties, plus sweet treats alongside hot and cold drinks.
Crime & Safety
Oxford – Faces of three jailed for drug operation revealed
Daniel Kaveh, 24, Justin Hughes, 25 and Kailan Chadbone, 20, were each sentenced to years in jail at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, May 29 for supplying and dealing drugs on the streets of Oxford.
Kaveh, of Lambourn Road in Oxford, and Hughes, of Woodperry Road, played ‘significant’ roles in an ‘open line’ class A drugs operation in Blackbird Leys between November 2024 and last November, the court heard.
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Kaveh was previously in court in 2021 after pulling out a ‘Rambo’ knife in a stabbing incident in Lambourn Road in Rose Hill in November 2020 which resulted in a 12 month jail sentence suspended for two years.
Daniel Kaveh, 24, jailed for seven years and six months (Image: Thames Valley Police)
Between them, they supplied around 4.6kg of crack cocaine and heroin to the drugs line.
Police raids on Hughes’ home also found 232g powder cocaine and 2.338kg of cannabis, for which he was sentenced for possession with intent to supply, along with a quantity of cash, drugs paraphernalia and weapons.
Justin Hughes, 25, jailed for six years and nine months (Image: Thames Valley Police)
Raids on Kaveh’s property found similar equipment and drugs like heroin and diamorphine, with a total street value of more than £100,000.
It was established the two dealers worked for Emman Riasat, who ran his own drug line in Oxford and wholesale supplied drugs to the line operating out of Blackbird Leys.
Hughes received a jail sentence of six years and nine months for two counts of class A drug supply and two counts of possession, while Kaveh was jailed for seven years and six months for two counts of class A drug supply.
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Kailan Chadbone, 20, jailed for 45 months for drugs running (Image: Thames Valley Police)
Also working for Riasat was Chadbone, of Bernwood Road, who worked lower down in the operation as a drugs runner.
He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and diamorphine between August 1 and November 19, 2025, committed while he was serving a suspended sentence for affray.
Chadbone received a total of 45 months in jail for two counts of drug supply and the breach of a previous suspended sentence.
Crime & Safety
Free Bicester Sundays in the Park returns to Garth Park
‘Sundays in the Park’ took place in Garth Park on May 31, thanks to a collaboration between Bicester Town Council and Bicester Live.
Visitors enjoyed performances from Ukesnaile, Bicester Concert Band, and Malish, offering a variety of covers from pop to garage.
Food was provided by Garth Park Kitchen, with options like British bockwurst, halloumi buns, and wood-fired cheeseburgers, while others brought their own picnics to enjoy in the sunshine.
The council’s events team said: “We can’t wait to welcome you all for an afternoon of live music, great food, and community fun in the beautiful surroundings of Garth Park.”
The next ‘Sundays in the Park’ event will be held on June 14, featuring Hook Norton Brass Band and local soloists, starting at 12.30pm.
Crime & Safety
Oxfordshire group protest following murder with Laurence Fox
In a Facebook post on ‘Raise the Colours: Oxfordshire’, the principal leader of the group asked campaigners to join the demonstration for ‘justice for Henry Nowak’.
The protest follows days of demonstration outside the police station following the murder of University of Southampton student Henry Nowak.
Protesters hurled bins, chairs and bricks at police as hundreds gathered outside the station.
READ MORE: Nationalist group to protest after murder of student
Screen grab taken from a video of police and protestors clashing in Southampton during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak. (Image: Jamie Lashmar/PA Wire)
Activist Tommy Robinson and former actor Laurence Fox were among those who spoke to the crowd.
Speaking to the crowd Robinson said: “I heard someone say this wasn’t about race, this is about race.
“A white boy who done nothing was handcuffed, a murderer in possession of a knife who stabbed someone five times isn’t.”
Demonstrators were heard chanting “Henry, Henry” as large group moved across town and threw object at police in riot gear.
The controversy surrounding the murder of Mr Nowak centres on the initial police response after the 18-year-old student was stabbed in Southampton in December 2025.
Screen grab taken from a video of police and protestors clashing in Southampton during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak. (Image: Jamie Lashmar)
A trial heard that officers arriving at the scene were allegedly misled by the killer, Vickrum Digwa, 23, who claimed he had been the victim of a racist assault.
Police initially placed Mr Nowak in handcuffs.
In camera footage Nowak can be heard telling officers that he had been stabbed, with an officer on the scene replying “don’t think you have mate”.
Hampshire police’s Deputy Chief Constable Robert France said that within three minutes of interacting with Nowak they were starting to perform CPR.
He added that: “This is a complete tragedy and I am sorry that they couldn’t save Henry that night and I’m sorry that Henry was handcuffed and arrested as he lost consciousness.”
Screen grab taken from a video of police and protestors clashing in Southampton during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak. (Image: Jamie Lashmar/PA Wire)
In a statement to the press outside Southampton Crown Court after Digwa was sentenced, Mark Nowak, Henry’s father, said: “We are calling on the Government to treat knife crime as the national emergency that it is.
“Henry did not die with dignity. He did not die with the care he deserved. He lost consciousness before anyone believed him.”
A group of Oxford ‘patriots’ are due to protest in Oxford this week as well.
Aiden Noble, organiser of the protests, is calling on the public to stand in ‘justice for Henry Nowak’ on Friday, June 5.
The group will gather at 6pm outside Carfax Tower to ‘demand answers, accountability, and justice for Henry Nowak’.
The protests join other demonstrations in Southampton, Birmingham, Nottingham, Blackpool, Liverpool, London, and Gloucester.
Vickrum Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 21 years served on Monday for the murder of 18-year-old Mr Nowak in Southampton.
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