Yesterday at City Hall Unmesh Desai AM asked the Mayor of London what he is doing to reassure the people of East London following a recent rise in acid attacks.
Mr Desai highlighted the horrific attack on Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar whilst they sat in their car at a roundabout in Newham. He asked the Mayor to explain what message he could take to his constituents in East London to reassure them that the Mayor is doing everything possible to address this.
Newham had the highest number of recorded acid attacks in London in 2016 with 149 attacks taking place. Across London acid attacks have risen by 74% in 2016.
In response to Mr Desai’s question the Mayor agreed that the increase in attacks using acid or corrosive materials was “very worrying” and highlighted the important role neighbourhood policing must play in tackling this and other hate crimes. He also praised the work Mr Desai has done locally to highlight this issue.
Deputy Commissioner of the Met, Craig Mackey said the Met are working with the Home Office to identify whether stricter restrictions could be put in place over the sale of corrosive substances. The Met are also looking at powers they could use to identify people carrying corrosive substances, for example searching cars pulled over by the police.
Local London Assembly Member Unmesh Desai said
“I am very concerned by the rise in acid attacks and I am grateful to the Mayor and the Deputy Commissioner for their messages of reassurance to my constituents yesterday.
“This has been a difficult time for many communities in East London and I hope that the response I received from the Mayor and the steps being taken by the local police is showing residents that their safety continues to be a priority.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Notes
- The number of reported acid attacks in Newham comes from the Metropolitan Police Service following a FOI request made in January 2016. The response is available here - https://beta.met.police.uk/globalassets/foi-media/disclosure_2017/january_2017/information-rights-unit---acidammoniaother-noxious-substance-attacks-over-the-past-5-years. And the figures for Newham are in the table below.
- The figures for acid attacks across London comes from the Evening Standard’s article, dated 21 March 2017, available here http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/sharp-rise-in-number-of-acid-attacks-in-london-met-reveals-a3494816.html.
- The question was raised at the Plenary Session which took place on 6th July 2017 is here- https://www.london.gov.uk/assembly-plenary-2017-07-06 tune in from 2:02:00 for the questions on acid attacks.
- Unmesh Desai tweeted a clip of his question which is available here - https://twitter.com/unmeshdesai/status/883009988775555076
- Unmesh Desai AM is the London Assembly Member for City and East.