Jeremy Corbyn among London Labour MPs demanding ministers tackle rising city violence
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn is among a host of London Labour MPs demanding to meet Theresa May and Amber Rudd in a bid to tackle the recent surge in knife and gun crime in the capital.
Top Shadow Cabinet figures John McDonnell and Diane Abbott are also in the group, which includes party moderates such as Wes Streeting, who penned and co-ordinated the letter to the Prime Minister.
They called for increased funding for police services after an astounding 52 people were killed in the capital so far this year as gun and knife crime surged.
The 47 signatories said the mounting death toll was “neither acceptable nor inevitable” and called on the Prime Minister and Home Secretary to "step up to the plate".
In the letter, the London MPs demanded the ministers meet with them and London mayor Sadiq Khan and put an end to police cuts, which they argued have totalled £1bn.
And they added that young people in the city are offered “very little meaningful activity” and are often influenced by the “glorifying and amplifying” of violence through social media.
“On all these issues we need urgent action from the Government,” the letter says.
“It is not good enough to simply ignore the impact cuts have had on communities. Ministers cannot bury their heads in the sand.”
They added that ministers had failed to take on the “underlying causes” of the 2011 riots in the city, despite the events prompting “much debate about the levels of inequality, poverty and deprivation” in London.
And they insisted the burden cannot be placed on the mayor’s shoulders, who they said has had to “fill the gap” by spending millions on an issue that is not entirely devolved.
“[Mr Khan], and the whole city, desperately need this Government to step up to the plate,” they declared.
“We need an end to cuts to policing budgets. We need a properly funded plan that roots out the causes of crime from young people and communities. We need urgent action to stop violence becoming normalised.”
Read the full letter below:
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