Minister’s cop out over force numbers

HOME Office minister Victoria Atkins was left red-faced yesterday after she admitted that she did not know how many police officers were currently serving across the country.

In an interview with Nick Ferrari on LBC, Ms Atkins was asked about the size of the police force after a leaked Home Office document suggested that a rise in violent crime is linked to the reduction of officers.

She spluttered: “I’m so sorry. It’s, um, um, I’m not going to hazard a guess, I’m just going to be upfront and say I’m so sorry, that number has slipped my mind.”

The minister’s stumble came on a day when Home Secretary Amber Rudd launched a new strategy to tackle the rise of violent crime with a pledge to allow police officers to use stop and search powers again.

Unveiling the strategy in London, Ms Rudd insisted she would do “whatever it takes” to make Britain’s streets safe as she launched a blitz on violent crime.

She said: “If you listen to the serious senior policing comments, like from Cressida Dick, [Commissioner of the Met] they will say that this is a complex crime and you cannot arrest your way out of this.”

Ms Rudd claimed she had not seen a Home Office document leaked to a national newspaper that said resources dedicated to serious violence “have come under pressure and charge rates have dropped”, adding: “This may have encouraged offenders.”

It was “unlikely to be the factor that triggered the shift in serious violence, but may be an underlying driver that has allowed the rise to continue”.

The new Government strategy calls on social media companies to do more to rid the web of violent gang content and sets out tough restrictions on the online sales of knives.

The changing drugs market is seen as a key driver of the violence affecting communities.