Suella Braverman: Home secretary accused of being 'embroiled in endless scandals' by Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats have taken aim at the Fareham MP after new research showed 30,000 muggings went unsolved in 2022 across England and Wales – roughly 82 per day.

Her critics say that the Home Office is letting violent criminals ‘off the hook’ while the Conservative MP jumps from one scandal to another.

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Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney MP, who commissioned the research, said: ‘These shocking figures show muggings are being effectively decriminalised, with far too many violent criminals let off the hook.

‘People are being left feeling unsafe walking down their own local streets, because this Conservative Government has slashed neighbourhood policing to the bone.

‘Crime victims are being abandoned while the home secretary Suella Braverman is embroiled in endless scandals.’

Ms Braverman was cleared without an independent investigation by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week over allegations she broke the ministerial code.

She was found to have breached the code last year over the sending of an official document from a personal email account.

Mr Sunak has said he did not let the home secretary, an influential figure on the right of the party, ‘off the hook’, after she asked officials if she could attend a private speed awareness course following a speeding offence.

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A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Robbery is an invasive and unsettling crime for victims and we expect police to take all incidents seriously.

‘We are providing police with the resources they need, having delivered on our commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023, the highest it has ever been.

‘We are also supporting police by providing funding for crime prevention measures, including better street lighting and CCTV, and equipping police with better technology to help their investigations and catch more criminals.’

A Conservative spokesman added: ‘The Liberal Democrats are once again proving themselves to be the very best hypocrites in British politics.

‘If they really cared about cracking down on crime, they would have backed our legislation that gives the police the powers they need to clamp down on criminals.’