London mayor Sadiq Khan and Tory minister Richard Holden trade blows over knife crime in capital

Published

2 years ago

September 28, 2023

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The Labour Mayor of London and a Tory government minister have traded blows over crime in the capital after the stabbing of another teenager on the city’s streets.

A 15-year-old girl died during Wednesday’s rush hour after being attacked on her way to school in Croydon, leading to an outpouring of grief from the local community.

Speaking on Sky News this morning, transport minister Richard Holden described the incident as “absolutely outrageous” and called for “a real change” in society over its approach to young people carrying knives.

But, after defending the government’s own record on tackling knife crime, he accused London mayor Sadiq Khan of failing to “focus” on the issue.

Politics live: PM pushed for yes or no answer on HS2

Mr Holden said there had been “some distractions” in recent months, namely “flip-flopping” over the expansion over the Ultra Low Emission Zone – an issue blamed by many in Labour for their loss in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election and touted as the inspiration for Rishi Sunak’s watering down of net zero policies.

He said: “I think what we should be focusing on is things which really affect people in the city and the Mayor of London is essentially the Police and Crime Commissioner for neighbourhood crime in London, he should really be focused on that.

“I think if it was me, one of my main, sole focuses at the moment would be very much on crime. We’ve seen some real issues in London, particularly with violent crime, particularly amongst young people. I don’t want to see that getting out of control. I want to see those numbers coming down.

“And I think if I was the mayor, that would be my sole focus at the moment, on what we can do to reduce crime in our city.”

Mr Holden also raised the issue of sexual violence in London, before adding: “I think the new police commissioner is doing a good job at trying to turn that around.

“But I think what it requires is political support in order to do that and political focus. And I think if I was the mayor, that’s what I would be focused on.”

A spokesperson for the mayor hit back at the remarks, saying it was “very disappointing that a government minister seems to think an appalling incident like this is the time for political point scoring”.

Focusing on the incident itself, they said Mr Khan was meeting with police and members of the community in Croydon, adding: “Londoners can be reassured that there are extra police patrols in the area, and the mayor urges anyone with any further information to call the police on 101 or the charity Crimestoppers anonymously.

“Sadiq has pledged to continue working day and night to end the scourge of violence against women and girls, and knife crime in our city.”

Labour frontbencher Ellie Reeves also defended Mr Khan, telling Sky News he was “hugely focused on tackling knife crime in the capital”.

But she said the mayor “needs support from central government in order to make the progress that we need”.

Ms Reeves added: “We saw the shocking news of a 15-year-old girl being murdered in Croydon. There is an issue, though, about what the government has been doing to tackle crime because we hear stories like this time and time again, and yet the government doesn’t seem to be taking action on knife crime.

“That’s why Labour have said in government we’d make it our mission to halve violent crime across the decade, putting more police on the streets and things in terms of tackling youth violence, making sure that there are youth workers in custody, street suites in A&E departments, reaching out to those young people and stopping them from getting involved in violence in the first place. And we’re not hearing that from the government.”

Politics

PM issues warning to European leaders ahead of ECHR talks

Published

2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

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PM issues warning to European leaders ahead of ECHR talks

Sir Keir Starmer has called for a tougher approach to policing Europe’s borders ahead of a meeting between leaders to discuss a potential shake-up of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The prime minister said the way in which the ECHR is interpreted in courts must be modernised, with critics long claiming the charter is a major barrier to deportations of illegal migrants.

His deputy, David Lammy, will today be in Strasbourg, France, with fellow European ministers to discuss reforms of how the agreement is interpreted in law across the continent.

In an opinion piece for The Guardian, Sir Keir and his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, said the change was necessary to prevent voters from turning to populist political opponents.

What’s the issue with the ECHR?

The ECHR, which is the foundation of Britain’s Human Rights Act, includes the right to family life in its Article 8.

That is often used as grounds to prevent deportations of illegal migrants from the UK.

There has also been a rise in cases where Article 3 rights, prohibiting torture, were used to halt deportations over claims migrants’ healthcare needs could not be met in their home country, according to the Home Office.

The Conservatives and Reform UK have both said they would leave the ECHR if in power, while the Labour government has insisted it will remain a member of the treaty.

But Sir Keir admitted in his joint op-ed that the “current asylum framework was created for another era”.

“In a world with mass mobility, yesterday’s answers do not work. We will always protect those fleeing war and terror – but the world has changed, and asylum systems must change with it,” the two prime ministers wrote, as they push for a “modernisation of the interpretation” of the ECHR.

What is happening today?

Mr Lammy is attending an informal summit of the Council of Europe.

He is expected to say: “We must strike a careful balance between individual rights and the public’s interest.

“The definition of ‘family life’ can’t be stretched to prevent the removal of people with no right to remain in the country [and] the threshold of ‘inhuman and degrading treatment’ must be constrained to the most serious issues.”

It is understood that a political declaration signed by the gathered ministers could carry enough weight to directly influence how the European Court of Human Rights interprets the treaty.

The UK government is expected to bring forward its own legislation to change how Article 8 is interpreted in UK courts, and is also considering a re-evaluation of the threshold for Article 3 rights.

The plans have been criticised by Amnesty International UK, which described them as weakening protections.

“Human rights were never meant to be optional or reserved for comfortable and secure times. They were designed to be a compass, our conscience, when the politics of fear and division try to steer us wrong,” Steve Valdez-Symonds, the organisation’s refugee and migrant rights programme director, said.

Sir Keir’s government has already adopted several hardline immigration measures – modelled on those introduced by Ms Federiksen’s Danish government – to decrease the number of migrants crossing the Channel via small boats.

Starmer-Macron deal ‘a sticking plaster’

Meanwhile, French far-right leader Jordan Bardella told The Daily Telegraph he would rewrite his country’s border policy to allow British patrol boats to push back small vessels carrying migrants into France’s waters if he were elected.

The National Rally leader called Sir Keir’s “one-in, one-out” agreement with Emmanuel Macron, which includes Britain returning illegal arrivals in exchange for accepting a matching number of legitimate asylum seekers, a “sticking plaster” and “smokescreen”.

He said that only a complete overhaul of French immigration policy would stop the Channel crossings.

Mr Bardella is currently leading in opinion polls to win the first round of France’s next presidential election, expected to happen in 2027, to replace Mr Macron.

Politics

Trump to begin interviews with Fed chair finalists this week: FT

Published

5 hours ago

December 10, 2025

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Trump to begin interviews with Fed chair finalists this week: FT

The race for the new US Federal Reserve chair is nearing the finish line, with US President Donald Trump reportedly set to begin interviewing finalists for the top job this week.

According to a report from the Financial Times on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has presented a list of four names to the White House.

One of these is former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, whom Bessent is scheduled to meet with on Wednesday. Another is National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, who is seen as the frontrunner for the role.

Another two names would be picked from a list of other finalists, which includes Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, and BlackRock chief investment officer Rick Rieder.

Trump and Bessent are expected to hold at least one interview next week, as a decision looks likely to be announced in January.

However, Trump has revealed he already has his eye on one particular candidate.

“We’re going to be looking at a couple different people, but I have a pretty good idea of who I want,” Trump said to journalists on Air Force One on Tuesday.

Kevin Hassett is a frontrunner for Fed chair role

The upcoming round of interviews suggests that Hassett may not be the clear lock in for the role as previously thought, though he is seen as the favorite.

Earlier this month, prediction market odds on Kalshi and Polymarket shot up for Hassett significantly following comments from Trump at the White House on Dec. 2.

While welcoming guests, Trump labeled Hassett as “potential Fed chair” leading many to assume the president had let a major hint slip.

With Hassett’s odds spiking to 85% after Trump’s comments last week, they have since declined to around 73% for Hassett, while Warsh’s odds sit at 13% on Kalshi at the time of writing, which has floated around this range over December.