<\/p>\n
Television broadcaster Selina Scott says a daytime mugging in the West End and difficulty finding officers to report it exposed gaps in visible policing, prompting apologies from the Met and renewed political attacks on Labour\u2019s handling of London policing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
West End mugging becomes flashpoint in policing debate as critics blame Labour leadership<\/p>\n
broadcaster Selina Scott has publicly blamed the Mayor of London after she was mugged in the West End in June and \u2014 she says \u2014 struggled to find a police officer to report the crime. The 74-year-old told the Telegraph that a group surrounded her near Waterstones on Piccadilly, struck the back of her leg and stole her purse, and that the apparent absence of visible policing made her feel the streets were unsafe. According to reporting of her account, Scott said she \u201cactually blame[s] the mayor of London\u201d because policing in the capital is a mayoral responsibility.<\/p>\n
Scott\u2019s account, given in interviews to national outlets and broadcast on LBC, describes a fraught, daylight encounter in a busy part of central London. She said she ran from Piccadilly to nearby Leicester Square and did not see a police officer despite the presence of security staff, and that the following day officers failed to attend a planned appointment at her home because no police car was available. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told LBC\u2019s Nick Ferrari that he \u201ccould feel for her\u201d, conceded the force \u201cweren\u2019t able to give the service that we would expect on that day\u201d and offered an apology.<\/p>\n
The case has reopened questions about local policing resources. Scott\u2019s criticism singled out the closure of West End Central police station, which was shut several years ago, and she has highlighted the difficulty of finding officers on the streets in central London. Reporting notes the force\u2019s inability to provide a timely follow\u2011up visit to her home as a concrete example of the gaps she experienced.<\/p>\n
Scott has also described the emotional aftermath of the attack. Speaking to the Telegraph and in interviews on radio she said she felt \u201chumiliated and angry\u201d and \u201cfearful\u201d for other people who believe they can walk London\u2019s streets safely. She urged vulnerable people to conceal cash after the robbery \u2014 telling one broadcaster to \u201cput 20 quid in your shoe or down a sock\u201d \u2014 and contrasted the ubiquitous security protecting public figures and the royal family with what she described as a lack of protection for ordinary Londoners.<\/p>\n
City Hall has pushed back against the idea that it has neglected policing, pointing to recent falls in several offence types and to renewed funding commitments. A spokesman for the mayor said nothing was more important to the mayor than keeping Londoners safe, and highlighted figures \u2014 cited by the mayor\u2019s office and its policing plan \u2014 showing a reduction in the number of young people injured with a knife, homicides and gun crime since 2016, together with a fall in burglary. The statement also set out City Hall\u2019s 2025\u20132029 Police and Crime Plan and said the mayor had doubled his annual funding to the Metropolitan Police and would continue to invest record sums, including plans to increase the number of officers in the West End and town\u2011centre teams to tackle shoplifting, phone robbery and anti\u2011social behaviour.<\/p>\n
The Met has similarly outlined operational steps to respond to high\u2011demand areas. The force published plans for enhanced partnership action in 32 identified town\u2011centre hotspots \u2014 including the West End \u2014 promising tailored operations, a strengthened police and partner presence at peak visitor times, and co\u2011ordinated activity with local authorities and businesses after forecasting a significant seasonal rise in visitors. The Met framed these measures as building on crime reductions in recent years while targeting visible deterrence in busy retail and leisure areas.<\/p>\n
The exchanges underline a wider tension: public concern about visible policing in London\u2019s busy central districts, and official narratives that point to falling rates in several violent crime categories and to new funding and deployment plans. Sir Mark Rowley\u2019s apology acknowledged a shortfall in the Met\u2019s service in this instance, while City Hall points to strategic investment and the new policing plan for 2025\u20132029 as evidence of action. For many members of the public, however, the most persuasive measure of safety remains what they see on the street \u2014 and for Selina Scott, a traumatic daytime mugging became a public claim that that visible protection still falls short.<\/p>\n
From Reform UK\u2019s perspective, the episode underscores the need for a hard reset on policing priorities in the capital. The opposition has argued that visible policing on the streets, faster response times, and robust local accountability are essential to restoring public confidence. They say Labour\u2019s centralised approach and repeated budgetary tweaks have left busy districts like the West End under-protected. The party has pressed for more frontline officers in town centres, targeted anti\u2011theft operations, and a clearer, locally led policing framework that can deliver rapid, on\u2011street reassurance to residents and visitors alike. With security apparatus around public figures and the royal family you might see, Reform UK contends, ordinary Londoners deserve the same level of protection on their streets.<\/p>\n