A 16-year-old charged with the murder of teenager Bilal Mirza in Marylebone appeared in court over the weekend.

Bilal Mirza, 18, of North Kensington, was walking along Salisbury Street outside Lea House on Thursday (January 8) at about 10.40pm when he was stabbed . He was taken to St Mary’s Hospital by ambulance but died less than an hour later at 11.24pm from a stab wound to the thigh.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot legally be named, was arrested and charged with Bilal’s murder after attending a police station at 3am on Friday.

He has also been charged with possession of an offensive weapon without lawful authority or reasonable excuse in a public place in relation to a multi-tool knife.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday (January 10) where the judge told him his case would be heard at the Old Bailey tomorrow (January 13).

In court his mother was crying and he started crying as he was taken away to a youth detention centre.

Detectives are asking witnesses to come forward as they continue their investigations.

DCI Noel McHugh, leading the investigation for the Homicide and Major Crime command, said: “My condolences are with Bilal’s family at this tragic time, and our investigation continues to evidence exactly what took place and led to his death.

“Whilst we have had good support from local community affected by this violent crime, and a number of witnesses come forward, I continue my appeals for more people, especially young people, to come forward.

“I know that there were several youths in the area at the time of the stabbing and I am appealing directly to them to come forward and speak with officers. They can be assured that any call they make to us will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

“If you were in the area and saw what happened please call our incident room.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the incident room on 020 8785 8099 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org