‘Variety is the spice of life’, they say, so, by way of a change, this week I’ve written a short quiz for you, which I hope you’ll enjoy. It’s called, ‘Who said this?’, and with no further ado, it’s eyes down, ready for round one…
Who said this?
‘The Metropolitan Police is a force facing real challenges and real problems. Evidence has emerged of systemic sexism, racism, homophobia, discrimination and misogyny.’
Was it;
- Billy Big Biceps, renowned armed robber of the 1980s, now an author, public speaker, and possible parliamentary candidate for the Communist Party.
- Chardonnay, easily offended, model, influencer, recovering alcoholic and Patron of the ‘Never say no to your kids’ charity, or was it;
- Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, a role that carries Crime and Police Commissioner responsibilities for our capital city.
Many congratulations if your answer was number three.
Moving on to round two, who said this?
‘I’m afraid the Metropolitan Police is nowhere near enough where we need it to be. In some instances, things are going backwards.’
Was it;
- Dame Verily-Uppity, Member of The House of Untouchables, and author of the ‘ACAB’ report.
- Chief Constable Sir Bill Knobbler of the Police Chiefs Cabal, and creator of the ‘If we can’t get them for a sheep, we’ll get them for a lamb’ Department, or was it;
- Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, a role that carries Crime and Police Commissioner responsibilities for our capital city.
If you answered number three, you’re on a roll.
And now, for the third and final time, who said this?
‘I want to make it crystal clear today that I won’t support the appointment of a new commissioner unless they can demonstrate they understand the true extent of the cultural and organisational problems within the Met.’
Was it;
- Mustafa Idee-Card, illegal migrant currently residing in a government-funded hotel, previously convicted of sex and terrorism offences.
- Lady Anita Garden, Chair of the ‘Crime-free Nirvana’ think tank, or was it;
- Sadiq Khan, now a Knight of the Realm and Mayor of London, a role that carries Crime and Police Commissioner responsibilities for our capital city.
This bar chart should not only stop Sadiq Khan from tweeting, but also keep him up at night – Peter Bleksley
|Getty Images/Statista
Many congratulations on returning a full set of number three answers, during which I’m sure you will have noticed that Sir Sadiq Khan is never slow to dish out criticism of the police service that he oversees whenever he fancies it, but as we’ve also seen in recent days, he is also very quick to bathe in glory whenever some favourable statistics are released.
City Hall, the domain over which he presides, has just released some very conveniently structured crime figures, which will have you believe that violent crimes in London that result in injury are on the decline.
If that is true, then I welcome this news, although it will come as no consolation to the two young men who I know were both viciously assaulted in separate incidents near to London Bridge in the past few weeks.
These statistics give no indication as to how many people are being robbed at knifepoint, who wisely hand over their watch or whatever is demanded of them without giving up a fight, nor have we heard recently about the rampant shoplifting, fare-evasion, phone snatching and sexual assaults that so many Londoners become victims of.
Yet, based on just a snapshot of limited crimes, the glory-seeking Khan had the temerity to tell the Labour Party Conference this week that ‘the evidence was clear’ that the current approach to tackling crime in London is working.
I’ll leave the last words of this piece to a well-connected and reliable source of mine, with whom I had a coffee just recently. We had plenty to bemoan, including the folly of The Met closing half of its police station front counters, a decision that Khan had called ‘pragmatic’. I prefer idiotic.
As we discussed, a Met initiative to reduce murders, which appears to be achieving some welcome success, my police source said, ‘Trust me, Peter, anything we achieve is in spite of Khan, and not because of him.’