Gang deaths? Mayor blames the boroughs

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Mr Livingstone's remarks came as new figures showed that fear of crime in the capital has soared.

Last year 27 young Londoners were murdered and 11 have been killed so far this year. The Mayor blamed the boroughs - most of which are Tory-run - for failing to find cash for youth activities.

He told BBC's Politics Show that tackling the cause of crime was key to getting murder rates down. "It isn't simply more police officers that are going to stop it," he said. "What we have not had in this city is a proper programme to get kids off the streets and into youth activities. That has been a borough responsibility. They have fallen down on the job."

The Government recently gave the Mayor responsibility for youth services and handed him £60 million to increase provision-Merrick Cockell, leader of London Councils which represents the boroughs, denied the claims and said: "For the last eight years Ken Livingstone has had no interest in youth services or youth crime."

An independent study commissioned by Boris Johnson found concern over violent street crime is at a five-year high.

More than half of Londoners polled by social scientists at Robert Gordon University thought crime had made their neighbourhood worse, while 43 per cent believed they or their family were in immediate danger.

Eighty-five per cent of 418 Londoners polled last month and thismonth felt Mr Livingstone and the Government had not done enough to tackle the problem.

Mr Johnson claimed the figures showed the Mayor had failed to take tackling crime, which he has put at the centre of his campaign, seriously enough.