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Clegg puts Paddick in a fix over crime cutting claim
Pippa Crerar, Political Correspondent15.01.08
Lib Dem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick's claim to have cut crime in Lambeth have come under fire.
The former Met officer said crime fell by 0.5 per cent during his time as borough commander.
However, in an embarrassing gaffe, new party leader Nick Clegg told supporters yesterday that crime in Lambeth had fallen by a fifth under Mr Paddick's watch.
His words were later amended on Mr Paddick's campaign website after The Standard pointed out the figure was inaccurate. Official figures suggest crime in Lambeth actually went up under Mr Paddick. The confusion threatens to undermine his credibility. Crime did fall by 0.5 per cent between 2001 and 2003 but his campaign literature failed to mention he was removed from his job in March 2002 after an inquiry, which later cleared him, was launched into allegations he smoked cannabis. Crimes went up from 4,294 in March 2001 to 4,738 in March 2002 - a rise of 10.3 per cent. By the following December they had fallen by 2.5 per cent.
Mr Paddick argues the legacy of changes he made had an impact in Lambeth beyond his tenure, claims backed up by an HM Inspectorate of Constabulary report.
Reader views (5)
Actually considering the UK allowed 12,000 unskilled people to enter from countries in the third world in one year and they tend to go to urban boroughs such as Lambeth - is it really so much that a percentage went up or down?
Statistically the prisons are full of people who cannot read and write and have no employment skills and many of them are from outside the UK.
The influx to Lambeth, like many London boroughs from people in Europe that are suffering similar to third world deprivation but have no skills means that in terms of crime, we are more likely to experience it where there is a high number of poor, unemployable people, and those who have no legal right to be here are even more likely to associate with criminal practice by default. Compare this with the crime wave in a part of the UK that has a relatively stable population but not high levels of unskilled (and possibly illegal migrant) for the past 12 years then you can tell me if any police officer under Ken's stint as Mayor of London could have even achieved any drop.
Unless someone can tell me which industries in particular, London and the other urban areas has a need for unskilled, illiterate and non-English speaking people, and if they can match these to the numbers of people and their dependents that have entered since 1999 - I would be most impressed.
If we had more coppers like Paddick you'd catch more villains.
- Musrood Begum, London
Ah the old Lib Dem fantasy figures pop up. What next? He'll be telling everyone he's going to make us all millionaires?
- Joey, London
And this bloke wants us to vote for him? Get real!
- Ian, London
Lib Dems never could count. Somewhat similar to NuLabour, really.
- Chuck Unsworth, London
Can the real Paddock please stand up please stand up? Hmmm...
- Georgie, London
