Sadiq Khan Admits Defeat on London's Knife Crime Epidemic: 'I've Done All I Can'
British government prepares to send military troops to help police
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As the British government prepares to send military troops to deal with violence in the capital, London Mayor Sadiq Khan rolled his eyes as he admitted defeat on London's knife crime epidemic.
Khan, who announced plans to slash the number of police in the UK capital last year, said 'I've done all I can' as he was grilled over his complete failure of tackling London's violent knife crime epidemic in an interview with Sky News.
The London Mayor claimed he had done 'as much as I am allowed to do under the law' by raising taxes and using business rates funds to invest in policing.
Khan, who regularly attempts to move the blame from himself, says government cuts are the reason for the violence.
'The investment we are putting in doesn't fill the massive hole left by the Government,' he said in an interview with Sky News.
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But news anchor Sarah-Jane Mee interjected Khan: 'You keep shifting it onto central government.'
The Mayor then rolled his eyes in response before the presenter asked why he was not 'taking personal responsibility.
Tory member of the Greater London Assembly, Susan Hall, said: 'The fact that Sadiq Khan rolled his eyes when an interviewer dared to question him about London's crime epidemic really does sum up this Mayor's complacent attitude towards violent crime.
'Throughout his mayoralty Khan has consistently failed to get a grip on crime, focusing instead on obsessing about Brexit and rushing out gimmicky policies like his TfL food ad ban.'
Last year, Khan diverted the blame for the capital's knife crime epidemic on " cocaine users," claiming 'middle-class addicts' are helping fuel gang-related violence in the city.
He added recreational drug use was not a “victimless crime” claiming there is a clear link between cocaine consumption and London's "out of control" knife crime epidemic.
#SadiqKhan #TfL why is it acceptable for me to get sexually assaulted on a train in front of my 6yr old and it’s case closed because you don’t check your train cameras actually work?! I need justice!!! There is a sexual predator possibly even a rapist walking free because of you!
— Lauren (@Laurbooklover22) March 7, 2019
@lbc #SadiqKhan is a total disgrace, like all bad workmen and women he blamed his tools.
— The Black Sheep #StandUp4Brexit (@AB1ackSheep) March 7, 2019
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According to The Daily Mail: Others vented their fury on Twitter, where one user accused Mr. Khan of being 'out of his depth.'
Chris Wade said: 'He's done bugger all. More plod watching internet than in murder squad. #priorities.'
'You are putting it towards gender-neutral loos, banning bikini ads and PR. You have failed on housing you have failed on knife crime.'
And Adam Goldie added: 'What a terrible human to roll his eyes while talking about a knife epidemic that he is too inept at controlling. What an awful, awful human.'
The interview came after 14 fatal stabbings in the UK over 16 days, including that of a man in his 20s who screamed 'help, they're after me' as he escaped barefoot from his house after being stabbed six times before bleeding to death in the street.
The man, named locally as Carlos Rodriguez, was helped by onlookers who tried to stem his wounds and give him CPR as a suspect fled the scene yesterday in Leyton, east London, according to a witness.
Other victims include 17-year-olds Jodie Chesney and Yousef Makki, who were killed in separate incidents in London and Greater Manchester over the weekend.
In Coventry, a 14-year-old schoolgirl was chased by up to 15 other teenagers before being attacked with what one witness described as scissors.
The victim's injuries are not life-threatening; a 16-year-old girl was arrested.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid is calling for more money to tackle knife crime, while Theresa May and Met Commissioner Cressida Dick recently clashed over whether a reduction in officer numbers had fuelled the problem.
