Tories ‘party of law and order once again’, Home Secretary Priti Patel claims

Home Secretary Priti Patel has claimed that the Conservatives are “the party of law and order once again”, as she unveiled a number of measures designed to present the Tories as tough on crime.

Addressing the party’s annual conference in Manchester amid the looming prospect of a general election, Ms Patel said the government was “coming after the thugs, gangs, and criminals who make law-abiding people’s lives a misery”.

She added: “I have the backs of all of the police officers who put their lives on the line day in, day out to keep us all safe and am giving them the tools to do their job.

“We are delivering on the public’s priorities while Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott side with the criminals.”

The home secretary continued: “As we renew our place as the party of law and order in Britain, let the message go out from this hall today: To the British people – we hear you.

“To the police service: We back you.

“And to the criminals, I simply say this: We are coming after you.”

The home secretary said that government plans to recruit 20,000 extra police officers was “just the start”.

In her speech, Ms Patel:

• Pledged to renew efforts to tackle county lines drug gangs, including £20m of funding for technology to look at number plate data and setting up a dedicated team inside the British Transport Police;
• Announced a £10m ring-fenced fund to equip up to 60% of police officers with Tasers;
• Promised a £25m “Safer Streets Fund” to provide resources for measures like CCTV and street lights;
• Repeated the government’s promise to end freedom of movement from the EU and introduce an Australian-style points system for immigration.

She said Boris Johnson’s government was “driven by the people’s priorities”, adding: “From crime, to immigration, to leaving the European Union, we are ready to listen and to do what they want.”

Referencing the current Brexit impasse, Ms Patel said much of the British public was “losing faith in politics and politicians” because Britain’s EU exit has yet to be delivered.

The home secretary said the “euphoria and optimism” of the referendum day had “given way to frustration and anger as a group of politicians led by Jeremy Corbyn think they know better”.

She claimed that the Labour leader and other opposition leaders have “done everything possible to stand in the way of democracy, ignoring the will of the people”.

On the government’s immigration stance, Ms Patel said she had a “particular responsibility” at a “defining moment in our country’s history” to end freedom of movement “once and for all”.

She added: “This daughter of immigrants needs no lectures from the north London metropolitan liberal elite.”

In a speech peppered with attacks on Labour, the home secretary claimed her opposite number Diane Abbott would “leave our communities and our country less safe” and “stop the police from doing their job”.

(c) Sky News 2019: Tories ‘party of law and order once again’, Home Secretary Priti Patel claims