Sadiq Khan opposes Labour council leader's threat to evict tenants if families don't report knife crime

6 June 2023, 17:31 | Updated: 7 June 2023, 09:55

By Charlotte Lynch

@charlotterlynch

Sadiq Khan has told LBC he is "not in favour" of a Labour council leader's threat to evict families if they do not report knife crime.

London's mayor said "we don't want innocent people to be made homeless" after Barking and Dagenham leader Darren Rodwell said the authority would "look at reviewing your housing agreement".

Mr Khan defended Cllr Rodwell, saying he "cares passionately about his community", but warned of "unintended consequences".

He believed Cllr Rodwell was "articulating his frustration" over people staying silent, but said "I am not in favour of evicting people because somebody in their family may be carrying an offensive weapon – I'm in favour of people doing the right thing".

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Cllr Rodwell said parents should keep a closer eye on their children during the summer holiday.

"If your child is involved in an incident and knows who the perpetrators are, and refuses to speak out, we will look at reviewing your housing agreement," he said.

"Everyone must play their part in stopping these crimes. As parents, it is up to us to know where our children are, and that we play an active role."

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Mr Rodwell, who has also been picked to stand for Parliament at the next general election for the safe Labour seat of Barking, added: "If families know their relatives are linked to crime, they must speak up or we will start to look at tenancy agreements."

Mr Khan said: "I understand that Darren cares passionately about keeping his community safe, as we all do, but you have to be careful about unintended consequences with the best of intentions leading to big problems.

"We don't want innocent people being made homeless because of the actions of somebody in their home."

He urged parents to call the police if they know or suspect their child is involved in knife crime, saying they won't be "dobbing them in" or a "snitch".

He told LBC parents could be "saving their life" because "the knife can be taken off them".

Barking and Dagenham will write to parents asking them to act to stop attacks and antisocial behaviour between 3pm and 7pm, dubbed "lost hours" – the gap between children leaving school and their parents getting home from work.

They will be asked to tell police about any footage of crimes seen by their children on social media.

But one young Londoner, a victim of violence whose family lives in a council home, told The Guardian: "That's a tough situation to be put into. Nobody can deal with that. You are already a target on the streets and now your parents are a target at home."