‘London is becoming lawless’: Chaos strikes as masked men target Florence Pugh’s van at her movie premiere

The Thunderbolts* London movie premiere on Tuesday, April 22, was supposed to be a night of celebration for lead star Florence Pugh and her family. However, it ended with a brazen smash-and-grab raid by masked thieves.

The Sun has learned that when the Oscar-nominated actress, 29, arrived at an after-party for the film’s premiere, two men in balaclavas pulled up on a motorbike and carried out a terrifying attack on one of the vehicles in her convoy. The thieves allegedly shattered the side window of one Mercedes van, grabbed a mobile phone and a laptop, and scurried away before anyone could even notice.

Pugh had been ferried from the star-studded red carpet event in Leicester Square to the after-party near the Strand, accompanied by her loved ones, including her beloved grandmother Pat and rumored boyfriend, Peaky Blinders actor Finn Cole, also 29.

Eyewitnesses said the attack happened just moments after Pugh and her team stepped inside the venue, so they were unaware of the attack. 

“Florence and her family and friends pulled up in five Mercedes vans to the after-party,” one onlooker told the outlet, “Not long after they’d gone inside, a motorbike with two blokes in balaclavas pulled up and they smashed out a side window of one of the vans.”

The insider continued, “The chauffeurs who were driving the vans didn’t have a chance to do anything, it all happened so quickly. They (the robbers) got inside and made off with a laptop and a mobile phone from the middle seats. Luckily, Florence and her friends and family, including her gran, were inside and weren’t affected, but it was still shocking.”

The aftermath of the attack

The Met Police has since confirmed the incident is under investigation.

A spokesperson said, “A 35-year-old man reported his car had been broken into overnight on Tuesday, April 22, with a phone and laptop allegedly stolen from inside. No arrests have been made yet.”

It’s still not clear who owned the stolen phone and laptop and if Pugh and her family were immediately alerted of the incident. In the aftermath, witnesses saw shattered glass and a hastily patched-up window, which was covered in bin bags.

Meanwhile, Pugh seemed unfazed by what had happened as she carried on with her promotional engagements for the movie the next day. On Wednesday, April 23, she stunned in a sleek black leather dress at a Thunderbolts* press event at the luxurious Corinthia Hotel, alongside her castmates David Harbour, Lewis Pullman, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Their new Marvel flick is hitting theaters on May 1.

After the event, Pugh took the time to leave a flirty comment — a melting smiley face emoji — on Cole’sInstagram post from the Thunderbolts* premiere, where he looked dapper in a suit and tie.

Pugh and Cole have yet to confirm their relationship publicly, though the actress opened up about her love life in British Vogue back in October 2024, without dropping the name of her special someone. 

“We are figuring what we actually are. And I think for the first time, I’m not allowing myself to go on a roller-coaster,” she said. “I’m allowing myself to take time to let something evolve and let it be completely real to its core, as opposed to racing into that.”

Given that Pugh herself did not address the robbery incident, it’s likely that she was either unaware or unaffected by it. She could also be more focused on promoting her new movie and is leaving it up to the police to do what needs to be done.