Blackfriars Crown Court Serco murder
A female prison officer who was assaulted outside Blackfriars Crown Court is in critical condition Wikimedia

A female prison officer assaulted while transferring a prisoner at Blackfriars Crown Court remains in critical condition in hospital and has not died, police have said.

Earlier on 1 July, Sky News reported the woman, aged in her 50s, had died following the attack but police have since said that she remains in hospital.

The woman was so seriously injured she had to be airlifted to Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

Earlier, 22-year-old Humphrey Burke, of no fixed abode, appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court charged with grievous bodily harm over the alleged assault.

Sky News reported that Kevin Hagan, contract director of security company Serco, said immediately after the assault: "Our thoughts are with her and her family at this time.

"We take a zero tolerance approach to violence against staff and we always press for the most serious charge to be laid against those responsible."

Murder