Tory mayoral candidate takes thinly-veiled swipe at Theresa May’s knife crime summit
3 min read
The Conservative mayoral candidate for London has taken a swipe at the knife crime summit convened by Theresa May in Downing Street today.
Shaun Bailey hit out at the Prime Minister for hosting her serious violence conference on the “safest street in the country” as he called for more action to be taken in areas “where people are dying”.
He also said "more and better police activity" would be needed to stop the violent crime epidemic, amid a row over police numbers on the streets.
More than 100 experts are set to meet in Downing Street for the discussions which will last for four days amid spiralling knife violence across the country.
The latest official figures show there were 42,957 knife offences recorded in England and Wales in 2017/18 - a 31% rise on the previous year.
The number of knife-related murders also climbed to 285 in 2017-18 - the highest recorded figure since 1946.
But in a message on Twitter shortly after he attended the first meeting, Mr Bailey said: “While it was good to be part of today’s knife crime summit, it happened on Downing Street, which is the safest street in the entire country.
"We need to push down on serious violent crime where it’s not safe, where people are dying.”
He added: “Getting serious violent crime under control means putting criminals under pressure. We need more and better police activity to stop the surge in violent crime now, and the public health approach rolled out over the longer term."
His call for increased police numbers comes just hours after Police Federation chair John Apter said government cuts had left the emergency services “stripped to the bone”.
“Whilst I fully accept we have to look forward, I think the Government and the Prime Minister in particular has to shoulder some of the responsibility for the government’s failed policies,” Mr Apter said.
“What she’s done to policing is unforgivable and she’s now seeing the impact of that.”
'CONVEYOR BELT OF CRIME'
Mr Bailey, who is hoping to oust incumbent Labour mayor Sadiq Khan in the 2020 London election, also blasted the “table tennis and biscuits” vision of social work, which he claimed was being “idealised by the political class”.
“To be clear, the public health model will require more financial support for youth services”, he wrote. “As a former youth worker I know that jobs are what ends the conveyor belt of crime. Full stop."
He added: “Our efforts have to start in London. London is a global city with global drug gangs. We are an exporter of crime to the rest of the country lines operations.
"Stopping knife crime in other cities will make those cities more safe. Stopping knife crime in London will make the whole country safer.”
Under new ‘public health duty’ plans being considered by the Home Office, schools and hospitals could be asked to report warning signs if they suspect young people are involved in knife crime.
Unveiling a new consultation on the plan, Mrs May said public bodies needed to "intervene early" to stop young people from being "drawn into crime".
And at the weekend Mrs May revealed plans to make it easier for police forces to carry out stop-and-search checks on people they suspect to be carrying a knife.
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