A former Boris Johnson aide vying to become the Tory candidate for London mayor today vowed to target soft drug use as part of a clampdown on burgeoning street violence in the capital.
Samuel Kasumu blasted Sadiq Khan for seeking to soften the UK’s laws on cannabis while being ‘absent from running the Metropolitan Police’ during his seven years in office.
Mr Kasumu said that if he was elected he would take a zero tolerance approach to the growing street crime problem that examined how ‘buying, selling, and use of drugs is also fulling this violence’.
The former adviser to Boris Johnson has already picked up the backing of Richard Taylor, whose son Damilola was stabbed to death in 2000, aged just 10.
Writing for MailOnline the Tory candidate said he would seek to emulate Mr Johnson’s ‘blueprint’ for running London. But he also said he would readopt a policy of Mr Johnson’s leftwing predecessor, Ken Livingstone, by bringing back the London Week of Peace.
‘The recent increase in violent incidents in the Capital is predominantly driven by young men inflicting harm on each other, often for the most trivial of reasons,’ he wrote.
‘Whilst young men are killing each other in broad daylight on our streets, trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police are also at an all-time low across all demographics. We need to build bridges and remind everyone that no-one wins if relations between the Met and the communities that they serve are dysfunctional.
‘Over the last seven years Sadiq Khan has been absent from running the Metropolitan Police, a constabulary he is, in effect, the Police and Crime Commissioner of. Instead, he has chosen to set up a review into the legalisation of cannabis, something he has no power to do.
Mr Kasumu said that if he was elected he would take a zero tolerance approach to the growing street crime problem that examined how ‘buying, selling, and use of drugs is also fulling this violence’.
More than 150 teenagers have now been murdered in the capital in since Mr Khan first took office.
‘As Mayor of London I will not ignore how the buying, selling, and use of drugs is also fulling this violence. I will be a visible strategic head of the Met, focused on driving results and returning to community policing. I will have a zero tolerance to violence whilst addressing the causes.’
More than 150 teenagers have now been murdered in the capital in since Mr Khan first took office seven years ago.
A total of 118 teenagers were murdered in London during the eight years that Mr Johnson was mayor from May 4, 2008, to May 9, 2016.
Mr Kasumu’s campaign has been backed by Richard Taylor. He has spend the past 20 campaigning against violence in London since the death of his son.
Damilola was 10 hen he was stabbed with a broken bottle in an unprovoked attack in Peckham, south east London. Brothers Danny and Ricky Preddie, then aged 12 and 13, were convicted of Damilola’s manslaughter in 2006.
Mr Kasumu’s campaign has been backed by Richard Taylor. He has spend the past 20 campaigning against violence in London since the death of his son.
Damilola was 10 hen he was stabbed with a broken bottle in an unprovoked attack in Peckham, south east London. Brothers Danny and Ricky Preddie, then aged 12 and 13, were convicted of Damilola’s manslaughter in 2006.
Mr Taylor said: ‘Unfortunately, this type of tragedy continues to be a regular occurrence on the streets of London. Politicians have failed to find real solutions to the violent crime epidemic. Yes, it is uncomfortable to say this, but many young black boys continue to be disproportionately impacted by this type of crime.
People simply do not feel safe walking through many parts of London. Things have gotten worse. Over 90,000 mobile phones were stolen over the last year alone. Over 834,394 crimes were recorded by the Metropolitan Police Service over the last twelve months.
‘The total figure of crimes committed is probably much higher as many have given up on reporting crimes because they do not believe they will be investigated. For me, no crime is minor. The impact of every victim is serious.’
SAMUEL KASUMU: We must end the senseless violence on London’s streets … it’s time for action
London has a violent crime problem, and there is a need for politicians to have more urgency in addressing it. The number of knife or sharp instrument offences recorded by the police in London rose to 11,122 in 2021/22, compared with 10,150 the previous year.
The recent increase in violent incidents in the Capital is predominantly driven by young men inflicting harm on each other, often for the most trivial of reasons. The number of people killed with a knife in England and Wales in 2021/22 was the highest on record for 76 years. There was an 18 per cent rise in the number of male victims, from 184 to 218, in the 12 months to March 2022. These statistics should worry us all.
It broke my heart when I read this week about a 24-year-old man stabbed in a street fight in Croydon. Another death caused by needless violence. I spent my weekend with the local Conservative Association knocking on doors in the area a few days before. Residents were worried about their safety, and often even more concerned about the safety of the young people in their lives.
It is important to note that many young men that have lost their lives due to violence on our streets were not involved in a gang. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
On Friday April 23, 2021 at 3pm in Newham, Fares Maatou, an innocent and unarmed 14-year-old boy, was struck with a single fatal strike with a sword to his back whilst he was trying to escape two teenage boys. He died minutes later.
Fares offered no threat at all and was the light of his mother’s life. He was a well-behaved young man who had never been in any trouble. Fares’s parents came to this country from Algeria to escape the violence that they had experienced there, only for them to lose their son on the streets of London where they had hoped he and his family would be safe.
Fares Maatou, an innocent and unarmed 14-year-old boy, was struck with a single fatal strike with a sword to his back whilst he was trying to escape two teenage boys. He died minutes later.
A man is in hospital after being being stabbed in the street during the early hours of the morning in South Croydon on Tuesday
That is what scares many parents. The fact that they could do all that they can to raise a model citizen, but their child’s safety is still not guaranteed.
The causes are complex and the solutions multi-layered, but at the heart of both is community. I come from a single parent home and perhaps have more empathy when I see the manifestation of not having access to a male role model.
Too many young men are unable to regulate their emotions if they feel wronged. We need to ensure that more people can play a part in helping our young boys, often with absent fathers, to see that there are better ways to live their lives.
We need to create opportunities for young men to see aspirational dreams can be fulfilled by enterprise and a fulfilling career instead of through crime.
We need to have a focal point for communities and agencies to come together as one voice. This is why as mayor of London I would re-establish the London Week of Peace, first pioneered by Ken Livingston and Nims Obunge. I would also support the Spirit of London Awards launched by the Damilola Taylor Trust.
Whilst young men are killing each other in broad daylight on our streets, trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police are also at an all-time low across all demographics. We need to build bridges and remind everyone that no-one wins if relations between the Met and the communities that they serve are dysfunctional.
Over the last seven years Sadiq Khan has been absent from running the Metropolitan Police, a constabulary he is, in effect, the Police and Crime Commissioner of. Instead, he has chosen to set up a review into the legalisation of cannabis, something he has no power to do. As Mayor of London I will not ignore how the buying, selling, and use of drugs is also fueling this violence. I will be a visible strategic head of the Met, focused on driving results and returning to community policing. I will have a zero tolerance to violence whilst addressing the causes.
When Boris Johnson was Mayor of London, he cut the murder rate by 50 per cent and knife crime went down. My ambition is to follow his blueprint as the next mayor of London.
We must end the senseless violence on London streets. For long lasting results the mayor, the boughs, the police, charities, schools, London communities and the capital’s young need to come together holistically to tackle this most important of challenges. It’s time for action. Enough is enough.
