Sadiq Khan: Reason for SIX homicides in last week due to longer days, heatwave and school holidays
Sadiq Khan has today suggested that London‘s recent spate of violent crime is due to longer days, school holidays and summer heatwaves.
The mayor of London was speaking after six homicides had been reported in the capital in less than a week.
The surge in violence included the stabbing of 87-year-old Thomas O’Halloran, who was killed on his mobility scooter after daylight attack in Greenford, west London, on Tuesday.
Addressing the surge in violence, Mr Khan told LBC on Thursday: ‘We have seen over the last few days, the last week, a number of awful homicides.
‘I’m afraid this summer we are seeing what we feared, which is an increase in violent crime… there are longer daylight hours, school holidays, a heatwave and so forth.
‘We are working with the police to suppress that violence.’
When asked about what measures were being taken to stop the wave of violence, he said authorities were supporting communities to keep young people busy in the summer with constructive activities.
Conservative MPs have accused Mr Khan of doing ‘next to nothing’ following the rise in violence, with Education Secretary James Cleverly accusing him of being ‘asleep at the wheel’.
Thomas O’Halloran, 87, (pictured) was well-known amongst locals as ‘a regular musician at South Greenford train station’
Forensic officers at the scene of where grandfather Thomas O’Halloran was fatally stabbed to death in Greenford, west London on Tuesday
Mr O’Halloran’s mobility scooter with the Ukrainian flag’s colours, in Greenford on Tuesday
He told LBC on Thursday: ‘I cannot express how angry I am about the situation with regard to violent crime in London.
‘When Boris was Mayor of London, when I was working with Kit Malthouse, we cracked down really, really, really hard on violent crime and it came down.
‘It looks like the current Mayor has been asleep at the wheel, those numbers are heading in the wrong direction and he really does need to get a grip of it.’
A 44-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after Mr O’Halloran, a grandfather who was on his mobility scooter, was stabbed on Tuesday.
On Saturday, 25-year-old Kacey Boothe was shot in Walthamstow, north London, and the next day Stephen Goodman, 60 was found dead in Dagenham, east London.
Also on Sunday, Sonny Booty, 36, was found dead in a residential property in Lewisham.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (pictured talking to media during a visit to the Newham Food Alliance warehouse hub in North Woolwich) said he ‘understood why Londoners are feeling worried’ after six homicides were reported in the capital in less than a week
Monday saw the fatal stabbing of Li Sung, 58, just off Oxford Street, central London, and Aziza Bennis, 58, in Ealing, west London.
On the stabbing of Mr O’Halloran, Mr Khan said: ‘I can understand why Londoners are feeling worried, feeling frightened. This was an 87-year-old man stabbed to death in daylight hours.
‘It’s no consolation if you’re the victim of violent crime but teenage homicides have gone down 68 per cent this year; gun crime, knife crime, burglaries, burglary crimes have all been going down.
‘It’s no consolation, that’s why it’s really important at the same time that we lobby the Government for more resources, we support communities where there have been particular concerns, but also support police in suppressing this violence.’
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan pitches the first ball at the San Francisco Giants v Colorado Rockies baseball game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, May 10, 2022
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan talking to late-night TV host James Corden at a reception for the creative industries hosted by the mayor in Hollywood, Tuesday May 10, 2022
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan walks through cannabis plants which are being legally cultivated at ‘Traditional’ a licensed factory in Los Angeles, Wednesday May 11, 2022
Conservative MPs have accused Mr Khan of doing ‘next to nothing’ following six murders in four days and 59 so far this year.
Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘London is inundated with crime at the moment and – apart from putting out statements – Sadiq Khan has done next to nothing on this.
‘We have gang warfare on the streets of London in some boroughs yet Mr Khan’s priorities seem to be elsewhere. He needs to make this his No1 priority and focus on getting rid of these gangs. Many constituents cannot see the point in him.’
Former policing minister Kit Malthouse urged Mr Khan to consider introducing tough measures similar to those brought in by Boris Johnson when he was London mayor.
Mr Malthouse, now Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told LBC that London ‘has been plagued by knife crime in the past and seems to be in the grip of it again.
‘I just hope that the mayor starts to take this as seriously as we did all those years ago and leans in hard.’
The Mayor has also been criticised in recent months for a £34,000 tax-payer funded four-day trip around America, which saw him visit a cannabis farm and meet James Corden.
He met with LA mayor Eric Garcetti, and visited a cannabis dispensary and farm in the city to see what lessons could be learned in the UK in responding to the challenges of drugs.
Home Secretary Priti Patel slated him during the visit and said his ‘time would be better spent focusing on knife and drug crime in London’.
During the four-day trip Mr Khan visited US cities including New York, San Francisco and LA.
The eight-strong delegation who travelled with Mr Khan all enjoyed Business class luxury on the United Airlines flights out from the capital to New York.
The costs were revealed after a Freedom of Information Act request from The Spectator.