The dramatic arrest of a multi-millionaire banker in the ‘Putney Pusher’ investigation raises hopes of a resolution to a nine-year mystery.

Horrific CCTV footage showing a jogger shoving a female pedestrian into the path of a double-decker bus on Putney Bridge in May 2017 quickly spread around the world.

Detectives interviewed 50 men and arrested three suspects, including an American investment banker – who was able to prove that he was in the US at the time. Police closed the probe in 2018, but the case remained at the forefront of the public imagination and even inspired a play. 

And then came the breakthrough, with the Metropolitan Police receiving new information that led to yesterday’s arrest. As the Daily Mail exclusively revealed, the suspect was detained at his £1.4million home in west London.

A director at a private bank, he is a decorated former British Army officer who served in several major conflicts. The suspect has familial links to some of Europe’s leading royal dynasties, including the House of Windsor.

Speaking to the Daily Mail yesterday, former Detective Chief Superintendent Sue Hill explained what makes this case so complex and why it has taken so long to solve.

‘It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack’, she said. 

‘He is a random jogger, there’s no forensic evidence and there’s no association between him and the victim. It’s great having CCTV but unless someone can identify him there’s little to go off.

‘While having CCTV is helpful it is still quite grainy, and clearly there were over 50 people who looked like him [who were investigated]. 

Nine years ago, police released dramatic CCTV footage of the moment this jogger appeared to push a woman into the path of an oncoming bus  on Putney Bridge 

The jogger approaching the pedestrian during the morning rush hour on Putney Bridge

The jogger was seen pushing the victim into the path of the oncoming vehicle. The driver swerved and missed the woman’s head by inches

‘So it’s really difficult to prove unless you can prove he was there at that time or he admits it.

‘I remember thinking at the time “Christ this will be a hard one to nail.”

At the time, the Met Police were criticised for only releasing CCTV footage three months after the incident took place.

Explaining why the case may not have been prioritised by the police, the retired detective said: ‘You’ve got to bear in mind no-one was seriously injured and she wasn’t dying.

‘The priorities are murders, the murder rate would have been pretty prolific during that period.

‘If the police had put the footage out sooner, would it have made a difference? Who knows.

‘But someone doesn’t change that much in three months. It wasn’t that long after it happened.’

Since leaving the British Army, he has enjoyed a successful career in the City and advises a string of high-net-worth individuals and institutions.

So is he the man police have been hunting for all this time?

For years, the only likeness of the suspect has been grainy footage released during the first police appeal. 

It showed a woman walking southwards over Putney Bridge at around 7.40am when a jogger approached her from the opposite direction. 

There was plenty of room on the footpath for him to skirt around her safely, but instead the man forcefully shoved her onto the road – directly in the path of an incoming 430 bus going at 12mph.

Thanks to the lightning reactions of the driver, Oliver Salbris, the bus missed the 33-year-old victim’s head by inches, and she survived largely physically unscathed.

The jogger continued his run across Putney Bridge without so much as a backward glance. 

After the vehicle stopped, passers-by rushed to help the shaken woman – who has never been publicly identified.

Then, incredibly, the jogger returned in the opposite direction about 15 minutes later, passing the victim again while she was still being assisted on the bridge. He ignored her calls to stop.

Another CCTV still of the ‘Putney Pusher’ on the day of the shocking incident

At the time, the suspect was described as a white man in his early to mid-30s, with a stocky build and short brown hair. He was wearing a grey T-shirt and dark blue shorts. 

Despite the lack of progress in the police investigation, public fascination endured, and in 2024 the case inspired a play called Once Upon a Bridge, written by Irish playwright Sonya Kelly and performed at the OSO Arts Centre in nearby Barnes. 

The drama reimagined the incident from the perspectives of the three central figures – the jogger, the victim and the bus driver.

In April, Mr Salbris told the Mail that he would never forget what he saw.

‘I always think about the case and I still drive over Putney Bridge several times a day,’ he said. ‘Whenever I’m on the bridge, I look very carefully at the pedestrians on the pavement, I just can’t help it. I wouldn’t say it haunts me, but it’s not something I can easily forget.

‘I’m glad my reactions were quick on that day, or it would have ended very differently, both for me and the woman who was pushed. Her head was only a few centimetres from the bus and the wheel, even after I swerved to avoid her.’

Mr Salbris immediately brought the bus to a halt, blocking the bus lane on the busy commuter route for six or seven minutes.

‘After the bus stopped, I got out and spoke to her and gave her all my details in case she needed me as a witness with the police. A female passenger also got off and helped her, then I believe walked with her to contact the police.

‘I remember the victim asking me, ”What happened?” and ”Why? Why? Why?” She asked me ”Why me?”’

The bus driver that day was Oliver Salbris, who was hailed a hero for his quick reactions 

In a statement announcing yesterday’s arrest, a Met Police spokesman said: ‘On Monday, 15 June, a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm.

‘He was taken to police custody, where he remains.

‘The arrest relates to an incident on 5 May 2017, where a woman was pushed into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge in Putney. Inquiries continue.’

As the Mail reported yesterday, the suspect has familial links to some of Europe’s leading royal dynasties, including the House of Windsor.

Since leaving the British Army, he has enjoyed a successful career in the City and advises a string of high-net-worth individuals and institutions.

Posts on review sites describe him as friendly and popular with clients and colleagues.

• To find out how Rory Tingle revealed a bombshell update on the Putney Pusher case sign up to The Crime Desk newsletter HERE