Home Secretary sees local crime first-hand following visit hosted by local MP
Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore recently hosted Home Secretary Priti Patel for a visit to his constituency to show her some of the issues facing the local community first-hand. Moore also set up a meeting with Inspector John Barker and his team from the Keighley Neighbourhood Policing Team to talk through some of the frontline policing operations which are happening across our area, as well as a walk through the town to see some of the crime hotspots.
Tackling local crime has been one of Moore’s main priorities since being elected, and he has regularly met with the Home Secretary to discuss these challenges, including drug crime, speeding and anti-social behaviour. Following these meetings and lobbying by Moore for more action to be taken, the Home Secretary agreed to a visit, where Moore was also able to show some of the good local partnership work which is happening and the recent progress which is being made.
Moore also hosted a separate meeting with the Home Secretary and some of the parents whose children have gone through horrendous circumstances having been victims of child sexual exploitation and gang related grooming over past years and decades. Multi-agency failings in both how cases were handled by the Police, local authorities and other stakeholders were discussed, as well as local factors including the ethnicity of the perpetrators and victims of this horrific crime. Moore has regularly raised these matters in Westminster, and following an announcement by the Home Secretary of an independent inquiry into the police response to Child Sexual Exploitation, Patel has assured Moore he will be personally consulted as part of the inquiry.
Robbie Moore MP said: “I was delighted to host the Home Secretary in Keighley for a visit. This follows my repeated meetings in Westminster where I have raised with the Home Secretary my deep concerns regarding local crime issues, particularly drug related crime, but also child sexual exploitation.
The Home Secretary met with our local neighbourhood policing team to talk through frontline policing operations which are happening without our area to tackle drug crime and county lines, but we also discussed some of the more complex cases such as those linked to mental health. Drug crime has a huge impact on our town. Not only does it affect those who sadly get caught up in these crimes, but also has such a large knock-on effect for local businesses who suffer from a reduced footfall by people being put off visiting our town. It is only through raising these issues with those at the very top that we can begin to see real change to improve our area.
I was also able to host a meeting with the Home Secretary and a group of parents whose children have gone through horrendous circumstances having been victims of child sexual exploitation. Whilst I have raised these issues directly with her on many occasions, it was also vitally important for her to hear directly from local people about these tragic events, and where failings have taken place.
As your MP, I want to make our community safer and will do all I can to tackle the harrowing issues which have haunted our community for far too long.”
