A day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer freed 1,700 convicted criminals from prison – with over 5,000 more to be released soon – a curious incident shows just how unsafe the Kingdom has become under Labour rule.
It now arises that Britain’s police and crime minister Diana Johnson had her bag stolen at a conference for senior and midranking police officers in which she spoke about the growing problem of theft and shoplifting, a government official said on Thursday.
Reuters reported:
“The incident occurred when Diana Johnson attended the Police Superintendents’ Association conference in central England on Tuesday where one senior officer told her in a speech that the criminal justice system was broken.
The official said Johnson had her bag stolen at the conference, but no security risk had been identified. In her speech, Johnson said Britain had been ‘gripped by an epidemic of anti-social behaviour, theft and shoplifting’.”
The Home Office declined to comment.
For its part, Warwickshire Police said a 56-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of burglary – and released on bail – in connection to the incident.
“Britain has been hit by an increase in thefts and shoplifting in recent years. While overall crime has generally been decreasing, the number of thefts from individuals of items like bags and mobile phones rose by 40% in the year ending March, according to the Office for National Statistics.”
This situation has led to public support for the police falling to record lows.
More than half of the public has no confidence on the police to solve crimes, and as much as a third have no faith in the police ‘to maintain law and order’.
“In her speech, Johnson announced plans to give more police officers training to tackle anti-social behaviour after a ‘decade of decline’.”
Johnson’s purse was stolen at an annual conference that is attended by some of the nation’s top police officers.
Dame Diana, the MP for Kingston-upon-Hull, has served as Minister of State for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention since July 2024.
Express reported:
“During her speech she said: ‘Too many town centres and high streets across the country have been gripped by an epidemic of anti-social behaviour, theft and shoplifting, which is corroding our communities and cannot be allowed to continue.
But we do have to face the reality that there are still too many victims of anti-social behaviour who feel that when they call the police, no one listens, no one comes and nothing is done.
Our neighbourhoods and police forces have suffered enough after a decade of decline, and this government will help restore neighbourhood policing, with skilled, resilient and dedicated local cops’.”
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