A MASKED thug on a bicycle tried to snatch Robert Jenrick’s mobile phone as he walked at night near Parliament.
The shadow justice secretary told how a “scumbag” targeted him as he walked up from Victoria station in central London.
Sun on Sunday – Journalist Kate Ferguson interviews Robert Jenrick MP for the new YouTube show Kate’s political lunch dates at Jennys Cafe in Newark, Nottinghamshire.[/caption]
Sun on Sunday – Journalist Kate Ferguson interviews Robert Jenrick MP for the new YouTube show Kate’s political lunch dates at Jennys Cafe in Newark, Nottinghamshire.[/caption]
Mr Jenrick – whose video confronting fare dodgers on London’s underground has been viewed 15 million times – said crime is getting out of control.
And he revealed his fears for the safety of his three daughters, who have had friends who have been mugged.
Watch Kate’s Political Lunch Dates with Robert Jenrick on our YouTube channel here…
He told The Sun’s Kate’s Political Dates: “I came down to London the other day about 11pm at night and was walking out of Victoria Station on my way to Parliament.
“I was looking at my phone and a bloke came past – scumbag – on a bicycle and tried to grab it out of my hand.
“Fortunately he didn’t succeed. But it’s unnerving. And do I hold my phone tighter and am I a bit more nervous? Yes absolutely.”
Mr Jenrick – who has three daughters aged 14, 12 and 10, said he fears for the safety of his kids.
“I am nervous for my girls”, he said.
“There are stories they know of their friends being mugged on the streets. They are more concerned.
“When they get the tube they sometimes say they think older blokes are looking at them inappropriately.
“I don’t want that.”
Britain must adopt the “broken windows” approach to tackling crime that was pioneered in New York in the 1980s, he said.
This is the theory that police must arrest thugs committing all crime and anti-social behaviour – no matter how small.
“There is an epidemic right now of shoplifting, of burglary, of mobile phone theft.
“These are the crimes people see in their daily lives, the most visible crimes.
“I want to live in a country where our streets are safe. And it can be safe again.”
“No crime is too small. Every form of anti-social behaviour should be cracked down on.
“Whethere it is that bloke on the tube playing annoying music not on his headphones. Or that person pushing through the barriers on the tube.
“If you ignore the small things, they will escalate.”
