The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will appear at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Thursday over the attack in Bermondsey.

Officers said they were called to reports of a stabbing at Spenlow House on Jamaica Road at around 10pm, where the boy was arrested a short time later.

The victim has been named by police as Kacey Clarke, who died at the scene.

Police said the victim and the teenager were known to each other.

The cause of death was given as a single sharp force trauma to the chest.

Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh, local policing commander for Southwark, said: "This is a tragic incident and my thoughts are with the woman's family and friends at this incredibly difficult time."

Detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation, and Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie asked for anyone with any information to come forward.

He said: "Our investigation continues and a team of detectives are working at pace to establish what happened that resulted in a young woman losing her life.

"My thoughts, and those of my team, are with her family and friends at this awful time.