Amber Rudd condemned for claiming she did not see leaked violent crime report
3 min read
Top Labour figures have piled into Amber Rudd after she claimed not to have seen a Home Office report into serious crime which was later leaked to the media.
A study which found its way into the hands of the BBC and the Guardian said cuts to police force numbers in England and Wales had “likely contributed” to the surge in violent crime on the streets.
The leak is deeply embarrassing for the Government, which has insisted the fall in officer numbers has not contributed to the spike in crimes.
More than 50 people have already died on the streets of London this year as a result of a series of stabbings and shootings.
Asked about the report as she launched a new strategy aimed at tackling serious crime this morning, Ms Rudd said: “I haven’t seen this document.”
She added: “There are a lot of documents that go around the Home Office; we do a lot of work in this area.”
But her startling claim was seized on by Home Affairs Select Committee chair Yvette Cooper, who said it was “shocking”.
“Surely Home Office officials sent the document to Home Sec, to junior ministers and to special advisors?” she asked on Twitter, adding: “Something has gone very wrong in [the] Home Office.”
Shadow Policing Minister Louise Haigh echoed Ms Cooper as she took to Twitter to make clear her astonishment.
Challenged in the interview on why she had not seen the report, Ms Rudd insisted: “Of course violent crime is a priority.”
She added: “I think that you do a disservice to the communities and the families by making this a political tit for tat about police numbers.”
And she said it was up to local authorities to decide how they wanted to allocate their money for fighting crime.
The Government strategy includes £40m in funding, a drive to crack down on the drugs industry and a crackdown on the sale and possession of knives and acid.
But Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott condemned the Government for having “only just woken up” to the problem, and branded the £40m a “small-scale” investment.
She added: “Labour will hold the Government to account to ensure that even these limited funds are not taken from elsewhere in the police budget.”
Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn will focus on police cuts and the surge in violent crime as he launches his party’s local election campaign later today.
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