IT’S PRITI DIRE

she made her vow, she told how she had been targeted on her own doorstep before she was MP for Witham.

She told how a drug-crazed thug hanging around her home pulled a blade on her as she tried to get to her front door.

She said she had been “really upset”, adding: “Violent crime concerns us all. It invades communities and homes. It can break neighbourhoods and it has such a long-standing, chilling impact.”

But Eileen Davidson MBE, chair of the Witham Labour branch, called her a “hypocrite”. She said: “She slates the police for their lack of action at the same time as voting for all the cuts.

“She has encouraged private policing with parish councils encouraged to pay for special constables. The cuts have meant the PCSOS have disappeared.

“All that knowledge has gone, there’s nothing to combat that sort of crime. Priti is a hypocrite. She talks the talk and fails to walk the walk.”

Her views were echoed by teacher Chris Vince, who stood as Labour’s candidate for Essex’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in 2016 but lost to Tory Roger Hirst.

He said: “We’ve lost hundreds of officers since 2011. It’s such a hypocritical thing to talk about when you have been part of a government which for nine years has overseen massive cuts. Cuts have consequences. I’ve seen the amount of pressure police are under.”

Essex Police said: “Recorded crime in England and Wales is, on average, about 30 per cent higher t han in Braintree.

“The number of violence with injury offences remains much lower than the national average and reduced in the 12 months to August, while robbery rates are three times higher nationally. There has been a rise in the number of possession of weapons recorded and this represents positive, proactive police work.

“Crime is increasing across the country and Essex is no different.”

The Home Office said: “The Home Secretary’s first priority is to tackle crime both in Witham and across the country. Essex Police is receiving almost £300million in 2019/20, including council tax, a £23million increase i on the previous financial financia year. The Government has also started recruiting 20,000 20 additional police officers, o as well as backing them t to do their jobs by making it easier for them to use stop and search powers.

“Just this week, the Home Secretary announced f urther measures so that the police have the powers and tools they need to keep us safe, including equipping more officers with Tasers and a £20million package to roll up county lines drugs gangs.”