Two convicted murderers allegedly attempted to kill Urfan Sharif, the father of murdered schoolgirl Sara Sharif, in a planned attack at HMP Belmarsh on New Year's Day 2025, a court has heard. Steven Sansom and Adam Watson are accused of luring Sharif into a cell under the pretext of friendship before attacking him from behind and cutting his throat with a tin lid, in what prosecutors suggested may have been a revenge attack. The assault was only stopped after prison officers responded to Sharif's screams, and he survived after being taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Sansom, 47, and Watson, 39, both already serving life sentences for murder, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court via video link from HMP Wakefield, where they confirmed only their names and dates of birth during a five-minute hearing. Watson faces a charge of attempted murder, while Sansom faces charges of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon; neither entered a plea, and both were remanded in custody ahead of a further hearing at the Old Bailey next month. Sharif was in the category-A prison after being convicted, alongside his wife Beinash Batool, of murdering their ten-year-old daughter Sara at their Woking home in August 2023, for which he and Batool received minimum terms of 40 and 33 years respectively.