Following an announcement by Sadiq Khan that he intervened to save Uxbridge Police Station from closure, Caroline Pidgeon has called on Labour’s Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to guarantee the future of Wimbledon Police Station.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley faced questions from the Liberal Democrats on the emergence of new evidence into 'Partygate’ today at the London Assembly, including over the ‘Jingle & Mingle” holiday party for the Shaun Bailey for London campaign.
Commenting on Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s call for police leaders to "ramp up" the use of stop and search, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Police & Crime Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“The Independent Office for Police Conduct has already called for an end to the overuse of stop and search. The disproportionate use of stop and search on minority ethnic communities has contributed massively to a rise in distrust in the police in London.
In the London Assembly Policing Committee, Caroline questioned the Deputy Mayor for Police & Crime and the Assistant Commissioner for Met Operations on the discovery of missing files relating to the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel.
The Met are still unable to explain why these files were locked in a cabinet for 9 years.
Caroline said:
In May's Mayor's Question Time, Caroline pressed the Mayor on scrutiny mechanisms for the Metropolitan Police. A positive step was the confirmation that outside expertise will be an important feature of the new Policing Board – as Caroline has called for in the past.
Responding to comments by London Mayor Sadiq Khan at Mayor's Question Time, where he refused to support repealing the Public Order Act, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Police & Crime Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“The new powers in the Public Order Act are dangerous, unnecessary and illiberal. The recent arrests of republican protestors at the Coronation this month only demonstrated the array of problems within this legislation.
After the revelation that files relating to the murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan were left locked in a filing cabinet and excluded from the independent inquiry into the case, Caroline Pidgeon has written to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner asking for answers.
Caroline said:
After everything Daniel’s family have been through and the disgraceful way the Met treated the Inquiry and report, how can this have happened? This is shameful.
Responding to the release of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary’s report into the investigation of the Stephen Port murders, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Crime and Policing Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“The murders of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor were a tragedy and my thoughts remain with their family and friends who did not receive the level of support from the Met they deserved and have had to relive their pain during subsequent inquiries.
Responding to the news that the Metropolitan Police are the only police force in the UK not to meet their recruitment targets, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Police & Crime Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“Londoners are crying out for a return to real community policing and the news today that the Met is the only police service in England and Wales not to meet its recruitment targets will rightly concern a lot of Londoners.
Responding to the news that the head of the Police Federation of England and Wales has said the Met is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Police and Crime Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“It is good to see that more people within the police are willing to describe the problems faced by the Met as they are – institutional.
