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'It's not safe to walk the streets after dark', admits Home Secretary skewered in kebab farce
Last updated at 00:52am on 22.01.08
'I don't get out on my own now': Jacqui Smith yesterday
Opposition MPs said the Home Secretary had made an "admission of failure" to the millions of shift-workers who have no option but to brave the threat of violence.
Aides of Miss Smith compounded her gaffe with a desperate attempt to undo the damage by claiming she had recently popped out in the evening to "buy a kebab in Peckham".
In fact, she has round-the-clock police protection.
And the owner of the kebab shop in question told the Daily Mail yesterday that Miss Smith had been accompanied by a burly minder when she dropped in for a £3.90 doner last Wednesday - at teatime not late at night.
The Home Secretary made her admission in an interview at the end of a week when three teenage thugs were convicted of murdering father-of-three Garry Newlove, kicked to death outside his home.
Asked whether she would feel safe walking the streets of Hackney, one of the most deprived parts of London, she replied: "Well, no, but I don't think I'd have ever have done."
Asked why she would not feel safe on Hackney's streets at night, the Home Secretary replied: "Well, I just don't think that's a thing that people do, is it, really?"
She was also questioned about how she would feel if she was walking through the affluent area of Kensington and Chelsea after dark.
Miss Smith responded: "Well, I wouldn't walk around at midnight and I'm fortunate that I don't have to do that."
She added that she had walked around in her constituency of Redditch, near Birmingham.
"I don't get the opportunity to get out on my own now but I certainly have done in the recent past."
Challenged about her comments yesterday, the Home Secretary said: "You don't walk in areas you don't know, in any circumstances."
She insisted individuals were much less likely to be a victim of crime since Labour came to power, but admitted it was a "big job" to persuade them that towns and cities had not become more dangerous.
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Kebab shop visit: Workers at the Peckham food outlet (pictured) say Smith was accompanied by a burly minder when she dropped in for a £3.90 doner
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "This is an astonishing admission by the Home Secretary. It is shameful you can walk the streets of New York, Tokyo, Paris and Berlin safely at night, but not the streets of London."
And Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather said the Home Secretary was "out of touch".
Miss Teather, member for the London constituency of Brent East, added: "To think that people don't walk around late at night, and to think that everybody goes around in a cocooned ministerial car with a couple of policemen watching, is absolutely astonishing.
"I think she has no idea. It's an astonishing admission of the Government's failure.
'She has no idea': Labour MP Diane Abbott
"Instead of putting large amounts of money into an ID scheme which is not going to tackle crime, I think they should be putting that money into getting more police on the streets."
Diane Abbott, the Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said: "Jacqui is quite wrong to suggest that Hackney is a no-go area for women after dark.
"She is feeding a culture of fear which is bad for our many bars, restaurants, art galleries and other entertainment venues.
"Comments like hers make women unnecessarily fearful. Jackie needs to get to know inner-city London.
"She will find it is not the nightmarish scene from a Hogarth engraving that she seems to imagine."
The controversy raged as Ministry of Justice figures revealed the steep rise in the number of under-18s convicted or cautioned over violent offences.
Total offences for ten-to-17-year olds climbed steadily from 184,474 in 2003 to 222,750 in 2006, the last year for which figures are available - a rise of 21 per cent.
But the increase in violent offending was steeper, while robberies rose even more dramatically, up 43 per cent over the three years.
By contrast, adult convictions and cautions increased by less than one per cent.
More than half of young offenders were let off with cautions, where they admitted their offence but were spared a court appearance and were not punished.
This week, the Association of Chief Police Officers will publish its youth crime strategy with an emphasis on prevention.
It will call for truancy officers to be based in police stations, so they can visit the homes of children caught skipping school and causing trouble.
It will endorse the stationing of police officers in schools, where they can "nip in the bud" bad behaviour.
The report, It's Never Too Early, It's Never Too Late, will identify 24 "risk factors" such as family breakdown, underachievement at school and drug-abusing parents, which can lead children to crime.
A Home Office spokesman said: "There is no evidence that the number of violent crimes committed by young people is increasing.
"The rise in cautions and convictions represents better enforcement and an improved criminal justice response to violent crime."
Police use of Taser stun guns is under renewed scrutiny after the death of a psychiatric patient.
Former dustman Justin Petty was shot with the controversial device after threatening officers with a nine-inch knife when they were called to his elderly mother's home over reports that he was trying to kill her.
After being hit, the 31-year-old staggered back into the house in Goldington, Bedford, and was found by officers suffering from knife wounds. He died in hospital.
The matter has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Police said last night that Mr Petty, who has recently been released from a psychiatric unit, wounded himself after being shot with the Taser.
One other man has died in the UK after being shot by police with a Taser and a baton round but a post-mortem examination concluded the death was due to natural causes.
An increasing number of police forces are using the high-voltage guns, which discharge a disabling electric shock, as an alternative to conventional weapons to subdue armed suspects.
Tasers have been used 450 times in the past five years in Great Britain and up to now police say there have been no fatalities or serious injuries.
Reader views (38)
'She insisted individuals were much less likely to be a victim of crime since Labour came to power, but admitted it was a "big job" to persuade them that towns and cities had not become more dangerous.'
This is utter nonsense. If the number of reported violent crimes has decreased in the last decade it is only because people have come to realise that reporting anything to our dysfunctional criminal injustice system is a futile endeavour.
Our streets are ruled by feral yobs, not because the police have lost control, but because the left-liberal apologists and their Nulabour sponsors have taken it from them.
There is no political will within government, or its parasite organisations, to tackle crime, just an army of politically correct apparatchiks ready to barrage those that call for action with excuse after excuse for criminal, violent and anti-social behaviour.
It is extremely condescending of Smith and her ilk to continue to expect us to swallow her assertions that the Tories are to blame for the dire straits in which we find ourselves.
NuLabour have been in power for over a decade and have ruined everything that they have had their grubby little socialist hands on.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster, 22/01/2008 00:01
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Is this the same Jacqui Smith who recently commented that acts of Islamic terrorism are to be referred to now as "anti-Islamic activity"? She's on a bit of a roll. Who wants to bet she'll be promoted out of harm's way?
- Dave, Swansea, UK, 21/01/2008 20:47
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Well Ms. Smith welcome to the real world. What rock have you been hiding under? We have been telling you this for years. We all cannot afford to take taxis everywhere. So now do something about it.
- J.Lamb, Lakewood, CO, 21/01/2008 20:14
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Of course Diane Abbott doesn't walk in Hackney. She takes a cab. That is why when MPs' expenses were published last year her taxi expenses were one of the largest
- Julian, London, 21/01/2008 15:32
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Chris, may I say with all due respect say that your argument is ridiculous? Jacqui Smith has again shown that the Nu Labour politburo is completely out of touch with reality and needs to be kicked out ASAP. We also need to take away a great many of the perks enjoyed by MPs so that they can continue to experience life as the ordinary citizen does. Government of the people, for the people I believe is the idea.
- Mark Curtis, London, 21/01/2008 15:24
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I'm glad Home Secretaries are paid enough that Jacqui Smith no longer has to walk the streets.
- Oscar, London, 21/01/2008 15:18
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Isn't this just typical Labour? Makes my blood boil.
Firstly, completely out-of-touch with what's happening in the real world, the world that they've ruined, but one distant from their privileged life of bodyguards, big cars, huge salaries, free trips overseas, massive expense accounts, homes in the country, and even subsidised second houses to avoid having to travel with us on our crowded roads, or dirty, unreliable, unsafe public transport.
Secondly, a mixture of spin and outright lies about Britain after ten years in their politically-correct madhouse.
Crime is down under Labour? Is it? Nonsense. It's up by a huge percentage, and that's even taking into account the way they fiddle statistics to hide the truth (ask any police officer who knows you enough to trust you), and a growing reluctance for people to even bother to report crimes any more. (Why bother - the police don't come, or arrive to arrest the law-abiding citizen whose infringed on the criminal's rights somehow).
Streets are safer? See above.
Did we used to need checks for drugs, scanning for weapons, and police patrols, inside our schools? We had discipline enforced by strict, competent teachers, and the cane or expulsion when necessary, now we've got chaos, leftist teachers, and kids leaving at 16 hardly able to read.
- Ron Jones, London, England., 21/01/2008 15:13
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How much more mess do we need from that Home Office?
- Franky, London NW1, 21/01/2008 15:05
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Why is the Crash Gordon band so consistently full-of-errors and out-of-touch with reality?
- Peteo, Islington, London, 21/01/2008 14:39
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If I'm permitted one more comment - to Nick: visit Cape Town. The centre belongs to Capetonians, who are predominantly ordinary people from the vast Cape Coloured, black and muslim communities, who can now get to work - or begging, or car-minding, or street-trading - or whatever it is they do in the vibrant CBD - in safety. Don't comment in ignorance.
As for the guns: the UK is practically unique in having unarmed police - and it is the European country with soaring crime figures.
- Roz, Chamonix, France, 21/01/2008 14:07
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Diane Abbott doesn't even walk around Hackney during daylight.
- Melissa, London, 21/01/2008 13:58
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There are some main factors for this. I believe that uncontrolled immigration and politcal correctness have made this country almost lawness. We have bound the hands that uphold law and we have tried to replicate Americas success with immigration; with too much over too little time. It is time to let go of political correctness as it clearly does not work. If this government was in touch with the country it would realise this.
- Brandon Thomas, London UK, 21/01/2008 13:54
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Clearly David Davis hasn't been to Paris recently. He should try going for an evening stroll there and he'd soon discover the extend of no-go zones that make Peckham and Hackney seem like Chelsea. He's also conveniently forgotten the number of cars burned out nightly in riots which went on for weeks and this is still on-going.
It also seems the recent murders of British girls in Tokyo and New Zealand and child abductions in Portugal have conveniently slipped his mind.
Davis - try to engage the brain before the mouth! It helps if you want to try to appear electable.
- Chris, London, 21/01/2008 13:37
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Why ID cards is always the political excuse to blame Government about anything they are wrong about? When you people will admit that in many other European countries we do have an ID card since we are children, with our fingerprints and details registered and we have never felt controlled but safer and many cases of fraud and crime has been solved thanks to the IDs? Only criminals should be against ID cards.
- Laura, Islington, London, 21/01/2008 13:37
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'It's not safe to walk the streets after dark'? Thanks for that info Einstein. Jeez, I had no idea.
I’m not sure whether I’m more disturbed by the fact our Home Secretary has a penchant for the nation’s favourite post drunk snack, or the fact it cost the lady the grand total of £3.90. Has the kebab shop been modelling their pricing policy on the London Underground?
- Fran, London, UK, 21/01/2008 13:28
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I don't know anything about this woman but I get the impression she's not qualified to comment. She doesn't live a normal life - how can she possibly know whether she feels safe walking the streets alone if she never does it? What really matters is whether the rest of us feel safe. I don't know the area this woman was talking about but I can say that I feel safe in my area, although I walk a slightly longer (but, I think, safer route) late at night.
- Suzanne, London, 21/01/2008 13:28
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Surely it's safer to walk the streets of London after dark... then to tackle a Doner Kebab!
- Sanjay, Sanjay, Hounslow, UK, 21/01/2008 13:18
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What planet is she on, certainly not mine.
Crime and violence has increased greatly since Labour came to power, despite all their promises nothing has improved if anything it has got worse.
The answer, kick Labour out, bring back the death penalty and introduce a form of National Service for young offenders.
And let's not forget to lose the PC brigade, then er we might see some progress.
What surprises me the most, is that people in general have more sense then the politicians, why is that?
- Malc, London,England, 21/01/2008 12:31
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I cannot wait for Roz’s vision for British cities to come to pass, armoured police on ever corner, cameras surveying our every move, so that our inner cities become ghettos for tourists and visitors, simultaneously pushing out and stigmatising the poor and anyone who doesn’t fit in. And what will that achieve? A fractured society with greater disparity between the have’s and have nots, increased mistrust, resentment and more crime…. Not the way forward!
- Nick, London, 21/01/2008 12:11
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"Well, I just don't think that's a thing that people do, is it, really?" Yes Mrs Smith, they do really, in order to get home after work. Just what are the qualifications this woman is supposed to have in her job of Home Secretary and her responsibility for public safety. "Let them get home before curfew," is an interesting update on Marie Antoinette's most famous pronouncement on the common people.
- Peter Haldane, London, 21/01/2008 11:59
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Glad to see Diane Abbott sticking up for Hackney - it has been a while since we have seen around the consituency.
- Julianne, London E8, 21/01/2008 11:53
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She said it! What a joke...
- Georgie, London, 21/01/2008 11:49
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This woman clearly has donner kebab for brains!
- Tom, St. Albans, 21/01/2008 11:46
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This woman is an example of bravery to us all...
You can understand how she got to the top, I have not got the guts to risk a doner kebab - good luck to her.
- Martin, Guildford, 21/01/2008 11:43
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This woman is out of touch. The worst Home Secretary I have ever know, if it's left to her to make our streets safe we do not stand a chance.
- Charles Bloodworth, Newark, Notts., 21/01/2008 11:40
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And Diane Abbott is in LaLa Land if she thinks pandering to business while badly attempting to pull the wool over the electorates' eyes, over the false safety of our streets.
What planet does Diane live on one wonders!
It is not safe for a lone person to walk the streets of London, and it's about time the people of this country woke up to the illusion the politicians are attempting to spin.
- Simon Caleb, London, 21/01/2008 11:28
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Coming from Hackney originally I would not recommend anyone walking around certain areas on their own - especially a middle class affluent woman - it's like hanging a sign around your neck and saying victim. So let's be realistic she is stating what is a fact of life in inner city Britain today. I can guarantee that in some of the other cities mentioned there are areas where a single person would not walk around at night. Even here in Amsterdam there are places I would not venture to after dark.
- J, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 21/01/2008 11:25
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Actually, she said she would not feel safe walking the streets alone after midnight, not after dark. There is quite a difference! I think many people (men as well as women) would agree with her.
- Heidi, London, 21/01/2008 11:22
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Everyone knows this treacherous so called government is out of touch. What do they know of life on london's numerous sink estates. If people think they care a hoot then they are sadly deluded. Ministers live a very privileged life.
- Al, London, 21/01/2008 11:21
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Is the bungling Ms Smith being set up as a distraction/scapegoat by the Brown government? She's clearly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and since taking office, she's simply lurched from crisis to crisis, soaking up flak from all sides and making gaffe after gaffe.
Is Brown hoping he can distance himself from the Home Office mess by ditching her at a suitable point?
- Mark, London, 21/01/2008 11:12
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This revelation by Ms Smith is hardly newsworthy. For the past twenty five years, it has also been unsafe for vulnerable men (i.e. white, middle aged) to walk alone in the streets of London. The term 'mugging' was first coined when marauding youths sought out lone vulnerable people to rob. Until someone like Ms Smith suffers such violence, nothing will be done.
- Roy G, Solihull, England, 21/01/2008 11:11
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It has never been safe to walk alone through the poorer parts of London, in fact in our history it used to be much more dangerous...if anything it's slightly safer now, but we also have a media that is desperate to scare us into submission.
- Daveb, London, 21/01/2008 09:51
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Of course you can walk the streets of London safe at night, you just need to pop up to your local drug dealer, buy a second hand uzi and some ammo and you're sorted, instant safety.
- Tru Labour, London, 21/01/2008 09:50
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What a very stupid woman she is, it's time for her to go.
- Barbara, London, 21/01/2008 09:14
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I guess this is largely due to the fact that the police would rather spend their time chasing down cyclists who skip through red lights... Priorities.
- Headhunter, London, 21/01/2008 09:11
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To paraphrase her predecessor - she is not fit for purpose or has any style if she has to rely on junk food for sustenance. It is obvious Nu-Labour just do not have a clue how to control law and order. The answer is to double police resources forthwith and build more prisons concurrently. But Brown and party shy away from the expense of that preferring to throw money away on wasteful projects like the Dome, The Third World, Northern Rock, Iraq et al. Talk about democracy - the British public never come into their equation.
- El-Cid., Hull, East Yorks, 21/01/2008 09:05
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Well it always astonishes British people to learn that I felt safer when I lived in Cape Town: tourists get nervy because they see security guards and police with guns, but I found their presence completely reassuring - and I find the absence of them alarming when I'm in the UK. It is a fact that Cape Town centre was a no-go area a few years ago, then they installed a massive CCTV system, armed guards on horseback, better lighting, and a swift rejuvenation plan and the place is now fabulous and thriving at any time of day or night.
It's not rocket science!
- Roz, Chamonix, France, 21/01/2008 07:33
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I hope that went she went for her kebab she remembered to put her large white cone on her head with the letter D painted on the front of it.
- Fly, London, 21/01/2008 07:06
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