Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Sadiq Khan joins police patrols, vows to fight crime

Sadiq Khan highlighted the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on crime rates, urging the government to address the root causes and fund the Met Police adequately.

Sadiq Khan joins police patrols, vows to fight crime

Sadiq Khan joined Met officers on patrol in Westminster today to see how targeted policing is reducing robbery and theft in the West End. This effort is part of the New Met for London plan to improve frontline policing and rebuild public trust.

The London mayor observed officers using data to focus patrols in crime hotspots. From October 2023 to January 2024, 5,768 individuals were charged or cautioned for various offences, including 621 for robbery and 497 for knife crime. In Westminster, nearly 300 individuals were charged or cautioned for violence, knife crime, and robbery.


The New Met for London plan will deploy more officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in every borough and ward. An additional 1,300 neighbourhood police officers and more PCSOs will be recruited, supported by a £151 million budget from City Hall.

The mayor’s visit coincided with the launch of the Robbery Reduction Partnership, led by the mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). This partnership aims to boost cooperation between local businesses, councils, police, and other agencies to reduce robbery.

Khan highlighted the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on crime rates, urging the government to address the root causes and fund the Met Police adequately.

“Reducing crime and making London safer is my top priority,” said Khan. “I will support the police in targeting offenders and work with mobile phone manufacturers to combat mobile phone crime, which drives robbery.”

“As mayor, I’ll continue to do everything I can to boost officer numbers and support the police to go after the worst offenders. I’ll also work with leading mobile phone manufacturers to develop long-term solutions to end the menace of mobile phone crime, which we know is driving robbery in our communities – not just in London but across the UK," Khan said.

"But we know we’ll never simply be able to arrest our way out of this problem, so this extra enforcement action will go alongside investment in prevention, youth clubs, and other interventions led by my Violence Reduction Unit," he said.

Met Commander Owain Richards stressed the importance of making London safe for residents and visitors, using data to direct resources effectively.

“Our priority is to make the capital a safer place for people who live and work here – as well as the thousands of visitors who come to enjoy all of the fantastic things Westminster has to offer," Richards said.

He also mentioned the use of live facial recognition to catch criminals. “Live facial recognition is also being used to take harmful criminals off our streets,” he said.

More For You

Bangladesh violence

Smoke billows from a burning market area at Guimara in Khagrachari district of Bangladesh on September 28, 2025, after it was set ablaze during a clash between Hill and Bengali residents over the alleged rape of a female student. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Bangladesh hill clashes: Key takeaways

AT LEAST three people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday in clashes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeastern Bangladesh after protests over the alleged gang rape of a schoolgirl.

Violence spread from Khagrachhari town to Guimara despite restrictions and the deployment of security forces.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rachel Reeves

Reeves said that while no companies had signed up yet, several business organisations support the initiative.

Getty Images

Reeves plans to tackle long-term youth unemployment

CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves will offer guaranteed paid work placements to young people who have been unemployed or out of education for 18 months, with those refusing the offer facing possible loss of benefits.

She is expected to outline the plan in her speech to Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, promising "nothing less than the abolition of long-term youth unemployment."

Keep ReadingShow less
TN-stampede-Reuters

Police officers stand in front of Karur Government Medical College hospital, following a stampede incident at a election campaign rally held by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party, in Karur district of Tamil Nadu, India, September 28, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

Actor-politician Vijay’s aides charged after deadly Tamil Nadu stampede

Highlights:

  • Police charge three senior aides of Vijay with culpable homicide after Karur rally stampede
  • At least 40 people killed, including nine children, as crowd surged during the event
  • Witnesses cite delays, poor planning, and limited police presence as causes
  • Vijay announces compensation of two million rupees each for victims’ families

POLICE in southern India have charged three close aides of actor and politician Vijay with culpable homicide and negligence after a stampede at his rally killed at least 40 people, officials said on Sunday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shabana Mahmood

In her first speech as Home Secretary to the Labour conference, Mahmood will also say that migrants should achieve a high standard of English and that she intends to be a 'tough' minister. (Photo: Getty Images)

Migrants must work, avoid benefits, and volunteer under new plan

Highlights:

  • Migrants seeking UK residency must work, avoid benefits, and volunteer
  • Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to outline new plan at Labour conference
  • Labour says proposal contrasts with Reform Party’s pledge to abolish permanent residence
  • Keir Starmer calls Reform’s migration plan "racist"

MIGRANTS wanting to settle in the UK will need to have a job, not claim benefits, and take part in community work under new plans to be set out by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer urges Labour unity to defeat Reform's ‘racist deportation plan’

Sir Keir Starmer attends an opening 'Welcome to Liverpool' session during the first day of the Labour Party conference at ACC Liverpool on September 28, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Starmer urges Labour unity to defeat Reform's ‘racist deportation plan’

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer urged his Labour Party on Sunday (28) to stop "navel gazing" and unite against Reform UK, accusing the rising populist party of planning a "racist policy" of mass deportation if it wins power.

Labour is well behind Reform in opinion polls, and Starmer kicked off its annual conference in the city of Liverpool by exhorting members to focus their anger on that party, led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, not his own leadership.

Keep ReadingShow less