Latest news with #ex-Scotland
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Lawless London: Knife crime offences in the capital nearly double in decade under Sadiq Khan - as report shows West End is becoming a hotspot of offending
Knife offences in London have increased by 86 per cent in a decade, a shocking report has found. London's iconic West End has more knife crime than almost 15 per cent of the rest of the capital combined, according to research from the Policy Exchange. Just five per cent of robberies and 0.6 per cent of 'theft from person' crimes in London were solved last year, the research – titled Your Money or Your Life: London's Knife Crime, Robbery and Street Theft Epidemic' – found. The report's author, ex-Scotland Yard detective chief inspector David Spencer, said his former force must take an unequivocal 'crime fighting first' approach to save the city from a knife, robbery and theft epidemic. Knife offences across the country have increased by 78 per cent since 2014, but Mr Spencer said these figures had been skewed by the scale of the issue in the capital, where there were 16,879 knife crimes last year alone - about a third of the total across England and Wales. The report points out that this coincides broadly with the mayoralty of Sir Sadiq Khan, who was this week publicly criticised by US president Donald Trump, who claimed he had done a 'terrible job.' Sir Sadiq, who was knighted in June, has won the Mayoral elections three times since 2016. The Policy Exchange report claims that since the pandemic knife crime has risen year on year throughout his tenure, with separate figures indicating a nine per cent rise in the past year. A spokesman for the Mayor said murders, gun crime with lethal barrel discharges, knife crime with injury and burglary are all down since 2016 and last year teen murders were the lowest they had been for a decade. But the report's author Mr Spencer said: 'A cosy consensus between police chiefs and political leaders has led to a collapse in proactive policing – in particular stop and search rates – allowing the streets to be surrendered to thugs, robbers and thieves.' The Metropolitan Police said there had been a recent dip in knife crimes between April and May, while personal robbery was down 12.8 per cent in a year. The report made 17 recommendations, including that the capital's top 20 knife crime hotspots should have enhanced 'zero tolerance' enforcement, with extra officers tasked with conducting high volumes of stop and search. The number of searches has dropped by 56.4 per cent since 2022, from 311,352 annually to 135,739, the report states. And the paper argues that contrary to criticism, the controversial practice is not deployed in a 'racist' way and reflected the proportion of the capital charged with serious crimes. The report stated that 39.5 per cent of those stopped and searched were black, while 43.6 per cent of people charged with murder and 45.6 per cent of victims stabbed to death were. 'The police are merely responding to the demographic breakdown of serious and violent offending in the capital,' the report argued. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said he supported the 'zero tolerance' approach, which he understood would require a combination of clear policy, political will and savvy operational policing to implement. 'It also requires policing and political leaders to put public safety ahead of ideological dogma on issues such as stop and search,' he added. The report also called on the Government to force Apple and Google to prevent stolen mobile phones being able to connect with cloud services, which would render them useless to thieves. The Mail revealed on Saturday that traditional county lines gangs are turning to stealing phones over dealing drugs because unprecedented demand from overseas is creating a booming £70million black market. The report also highlighted that 'hyper-prolific offenders' across Britain with 46 or more previous convictions are sent to prison on less than half of occasions after they are convicted again. It recommended the Government should make immediate two-year custodial sentences mandatory for all such offenders upon conviction of a further offence. Labour MP and former Metropolitan Police inspector Jonathan Hinder said the criminal justice system had been left broken, and there was an urgent need to properly resource courts and prisons to restore public faith. 'In the meantime, the law-abiding public want a strong police force to have the confidence to take on criminals, and it's time for politicians of all colours to give the police their full backing to do just that,' he added. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'We are putting more officers in neighbourhoods than ever before, using our stop and search powers to taking thousands of weapons off the street – 17,500 over the past four years - and utilising new technology and data-driven tactics including focussing on the highest harm hotspots to bring offenders to justice and drive down violent crime. 'We are also arresting more than 1,000 more criminals each month thanks to the hard work of our officers. 'Our approach is having success - this financial year, knife-related crime is down by 16 per cent, there has 12.8 per cent reduction in robbery offences and homicide is at a five year low. 'This report repeats the calls that we have previously made for reform of the justice system and the collaboration of partners like major mobile phone producers. 'We all know that reducing knife crime requires a whole of society effort and we will support any initiative that seeks to make this happen.' A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: 'The latest ONS stats also show that overall, the violent crime with injury rate is lower in London than in the rest of England and Wales. 'Record funding from the Mayor and an enhanced approach to neighbourhood policing in the West End has led to personal robberies falling by 20 per cent and violence with injury reducing by 25 per cent in the last year. 'The Mayor is determined to build on this progress – his record £1.16bn funding has secured 935 police officers and he has worked closely with the Commissioner to increase the number of police officers on the beat in the West End, plus additional police officers working in new or enhanced town centre teams in hotspot areas. 'Despite years of austerity by the previous government, this is the latest example of the Met Police and Mayor prioritising what Londoners want and delivering on their pledge to put high visibility policing at the heart of fighting crime and rebuilding community confidence and trust.'
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Celtic hero questions outcast's effort after recommending him
Last season, he was sent out on loan to Greece with Olympiacos. Izaguirre - who won seven league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups at Celtic and is now sports director of Motagua - was instrumental in getting Palma to Celtic after recommending the player to the Hoops. But he's admitted he was disappointed with Palma's efforts in Scottish football. He said: "I think Luis Palma needed to be more intense when he was at Celtic and actually finish the 90 minutes. "I don't know if he has good pre-seasons, I don't know about injuries, but you can see that he never seems to be able to finish the 90 minutes. Read more: "He's a winger and has to run many miles a game, press and make runs. I'm not sure he did that. "But he still has the potential to return to form. "He's now in Poland and we hope he gets the chance to play and enjoy it because he definitely has what it takes. "I have always believed in the national team players, which is why many of them play in Europe. We have quality." Meanwhile, Palma was praised by his Lech Poznan manager Niels Frederiksen after his introduction to Polish football in a 4-3 win at ex-Scotland No.2 John Carver's Lechia Gdansk. He said: "Luis Palma only had a few minutes on the pitch, but he forced a good save from their keeper and you could see the quality he has. "He will be a big player for us this season once he gets up to match fitness."
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Ian Durrant pinpoints the player Russell Martin must keep at Rangers
He and his fellow Light Blues greats John Brown and Lee McCulloch had lunch with the ex-Scotland internationalist after training at Auchenhowie at the weekend and they were all encouraged to hear his plans for the future. The Hall of Fame member, too, was impressed with [[Rangers]]' performance in their hard-fought 2-0 triumph over Panathinaikos in their Champions League second qualifying round match at Ibrox on Tuesday evening. Read more: However, Durrant feels it is imperative that Martin, who has signed no fewer than eight new players since being named as Philippe Clement's permanent replacement last month, retains the services of Raskin going forward. He was struck by how well the Belgium internationalist dovetailed with Joe Rothwell, the experience English midfielder who was signed from Bournemouth for £400,000 at the start of this month, against the Greek visitors and feels they can form a good partnership in the middle of the park during the 2025/26 campaign. Asked if it was important for the new manager not to lose prized asset Raskin, he said, 'Of course, he'll outline that. He wants his best players here, but sometimes money talks. I hope it doesn't, but that's the nature of the beast. 'But he'll want to keep him, because you can see he's wanting to get Raskin and Joe Rothwell together. The more they play, the better they'll get.' (Image: Steve Welsh - PA Wire) Durrant, who was speaking at a promotional event for the Rangers Youth Development Company's new Big Blue Jackpot at Ibrox, admitted that he had enjoyed chatting to Martin at the weekend and revealed what he, Brown and McCulloch had told the new manager. 'It was nice,' he said. 'I've been doing a wee bit of work with the club and they invited us over. He was just bouncing a few things off us, asking us what we think. We told him, 'You just need to win'. 'That's the be all and end all. Get the proper players, get your recruitment right. He was good. He spoke very well. He outlined the way he wants to go. So you've just got to go and back him. He's certainly got the backing of the club now with the new regime coming in. Read more: 'There will be tough games, especially the Champions League qualifiers. You've got the second leg now. Financially, that could do a lot for the club. It's come at an early time, but he's working every day. 'He spoke to us about the fitness levels of the team. It looked like the second half on Tuesday that he's worked them really hard. He had a great week down at St George's. He's got all his players back. 'He's hopefully got a couple more players now. Hamza Igamane and Cyriel Dessers missed a fair chunk of pre-season. They're a wee bit behind, but they'll get game time on Saturday. 'He wants his team so fit. He said that the way he plays, it might take the last 10 to 15 minutes to break teams down, but the only way they're going to break them down is if they are fitter than the other teams.' Light Blues legend Ian Durrant was speaking as he promoted RYDC's Big Blue Jackpot, a new Rangers Lotto prize for supporters who can win guaranteed end-of-month jackpots of at least £12,000 and £15,000 from August. Full details at
The National
6 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Ian Durrant pinpoints the player Russell Martin must keep at Rangers
Durrant, who won the Scottish title on six occasions during his time as a player at his boyhood heroes in the 1980s and 1990s, is optimistic that former MK Dons, Swansea City and Southampton manager Martin can do well at the Glasgow club. He and his fellow Light Blues greats John Brown and Lee McCulloch had lunch with the ex-Scotland internationalist after training at Auchenhowie at the weekend and they were all encouraged to hear his plans for the future. The Hall of Fame member, too, was impressed with [[Rangers]]' performance in their hard-fought 2-0 triumph over Panathinaikos in their Champions League second qualifying round match at Ibrox on Tuesday evening. Read more: However, Durrant feels it is imperative that Martin, who has signed no fewer than eight new players since being named as Philippe Clement's permanent replacement last month, retains the services of Raskin going forward. He was struck by how well the Belgium internationalist dovetailed with Joe Rothwell, the experience English midfielder who was signed from Bournemouth for £400,000 at the start of this month, against the Greek visitors and feels they can form a good partnership in the middle of the park during the 2025/26 campaign. Asked if it was important for the new manager not to lose prized asset Raskin, he said, 'Of course, he'll outline that. He wants his best players here, but sometimes money talks. I hope it doesn't, but that's the nature of the beast. 'But he'll want to keep him, because you can see he's wanting to get Raskin and Joe Rothwell together. The more they play, the better they'll get.' (Image: Steve Welsh - PA Wire) Durrant, who was speaking at a promotional event for the Rangers Youth Development Company's new Big Blue Jackpot at Ibrox, admitted that he had enjoyed chatting to Martin at the weekend and revealed what he, Brown and McCulloch had told the new manager. 'It was nice,' he said. 'I've been doing a wee bit of work with the club and they invited us over. He was just bouncing a few things off us, asking us what we think. We told him, 'You just need to win'. 'That's the be all and end all. Get the proper players, get your recruitment right. He was good. He spoke very well. He outlined the way he wants to go. So you've just got to go and back him. He's certainly got the backing of the club now with the new regime coming in. Read more: 'There will be tough games, especially the Champions League qualifiers. You've got the second leg now. Financially, that could do a lot for the club. It's come at an early time, but he's working every day. 'He spoke to us about the fitness levels of the team. It looked like the second half on Tuesday that he's worked them really hard. He had a great week down at St George's. He's got all his players back. 'He's hopefully got a couple more players now. Hamza Igamane and Cyriel Dessers missed a fair chunk of pre-season. They're a wee bit behind, but they'll get game time on Saturday. 'He wants his team so fit. He said that the way he plays, it might take the last 10 to 15 minutes to break teams down, but the only way they're going to break them down is if they are fitter than the other teams.' Light Blues legend Ian Durrant was speaking as he promoted RYDC's Big Blue Jackpot, a new Rangers Lotto prize for supporters who can win guaranteed end-of-month jackpots of at least £12,000 and £15,000 from August. Full details at
Scotsman
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Celebrities set to line up at football fundraiser in aid of Maggie's
Celebrities, musicians and ex-professional footballers will team up in aid of Maggie's Centre next weekend - in what promises to be a truly unique event held at Armadale's Volunteer Park. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The game is part of an effort to raise £50,000 for the vital cancer charity. Names from across football and music have pledged their support to the event that will see the stars descend on Armadale on Sunday, July 27. Musicians taking part include chart-topping acts and fan favourites such as The Darkness, The View, The Snuts, Ben Walker, Luke La Volpe, Dictator, Tenement TV and Sergeant. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Also taking part are a host of ex-professional footballers, including Charlie Mulgrew and Premier League winner, and ex-Scotland captain Colin Hendry. All the action is set to kick off at 12.30pm, with a full afternoon of football featuring teams made up of well-known musicians, local heroes and ex-pros. One of the organisers Michael Ward said: 'We wanted to create something fun and unforgettable that brings people together for a brilliant cause. Whether you're on the pitch or in the stands, Rock the Crossbar promises an incredible atmosphere, big names, and a huge amount of heart – all in support of a charity that does amazing work for those affected by cancer.' Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins is one of those lining up at Armadale's Volunteer Park on Sunday, 27 July | Justin Hawkins Michael, who runs songwriting camps alongside The View frontman Kyle Falconer, said a friendship with Justin Hawkins of The Darkness saw the rock legend appear on their six-a-side team at a London competition earlier this year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Michael explained: 'The thing with The Darkness is a personal friendship with me and Justin, he came to my and Kyle Falconer's songwriting camp in Alicante this year and we became really good pals, really quickly. 'The Darkness played in our La Sierra Casa team at celebrity soccer sixes in London in May and won it. We've entered the same team into this, so they are flying from a huge gig in Cornwall on the Saturday and then back there the next day.' Following the football, players and supporters will head to The Regal Theatre in Bathgate for an awards dinner and live jam session, featuring surprise performances, guest appearances and a celebration of what's sure to be a standout day for the community. The event aims to raise £50,000 in support of Maggie's Centre, a charity that offers free cancer support and care to individuals and families across the UK. Maggie's Edinburgh operates out of the Western General Hospital. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad An emotional video posted on Instagram by Michael's brother and fellow organiser Jonathan Ward, explains why Maggie's was chosen as the charity that the teams will line-up in aid of. In it Morris Schumacher describes the support provided for his son Jay, and both Morris and his wife Claire, while he battled cancer. Jay sadly passed away in 2015. Their story is just one of many highlighted in the video. Members of the public are welcome to attend, cheer on their favourites, and soak in the atmosphere – with food, drink, and entertainment on offer throughout the day. A limited number of places are still available for those who'd like to play or enter a team. For team registration, or to get involved as a supporter or sponsor, contact Mike Ward at mike@ . You can also pick up tickets here.
