'Every teenager in my borough has been mugged, says MP

A Labour MP has claimed that almost every teenager in her constituency has been mugged.

In a controversial intervention, Emily Thornberry said a large number of such offences were not even reported to police.

She added that the fear of being robbed was becoming a "way of life" for youngsters in Islington, North London.

The MP for Islington South and Finsbury said: "I suspect there are hardly any children in Islington who have not been mugged at some stage and I am appalled that it is a part of their lives.

"If you talk to kids it is the main thing they are afraid of. That's really sad."

But Scotland Yard and council leaders accused Miss Thornberry of exaggerating the extent of the problem.

Figures from Islington police show there were 1,229 muggings in the borough last year, 61 per cent of them on under-18s.

Some 568 said their mugger was a teenager. Among the victims were children younger than ten.

Miss Thornberry said: "It is a hidden crime. Kids are robbing other kids but you don't hear about it. It is extremely sad and very serious.

"It can't be excused as a step up from playground bullying. The problem is that youngsters carry with them things that are worth selling.

"They get stopped for their iPods, phones and other things with a high value.

"Kids are the perpetrators but they are the victims, too. Young people are being mugged regularly. We don't want it to become a way of life."

The MP's remarks, in a local newspaper, were welcomed by LibDem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick, who criticised London mayor Ken Livingstone and Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair.

Mr Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner with the Met, said: "The mayor and the commissioner's claim that crime has gone down by 17 per cent in the last four years is simply not true.

"The 17 per cent reduction in crime is 17 per cent fewer victims of crime trusting the police enough to report it in the first place.

"The British Crime Survey - the only reliable measure of crime - shows that crime hasn't reduced at all in the last six years.

"The reason why Londoners don't feel safer is because they are not any safer."

Tory mayoral candidate Boris Johnson said: "How refreshing to hear a Labour politician speak some truth for a change rather than hiding behind statistics that do not reflect how Londoners really feel about safety on our streets."

The Met said Islington police had put officers in schools and created "safe" routes to get children to and from school without being mugged.

A spokesman added: "We strongly refute this(Miss Thornberry's) suggestion which is based on speculation rather than fact.

"In a borough where there are more than 180,000 residents we estimate around 750 people aged under 18 reported being victims of muggings in 2007.

"This is a small proportion of the population.

"We acknowledge a large proportion of robbery victims are under 18 and that just one victim is one too many.

"As such, we are using a number of different tactics to protect children from becoming victims of crime."

Terry Stacy, deputy leader of Islington Council, denied there was a mugging epidemic among youths, saying: "It's simply not true."