Row over 'defund the police' comments

Battle lines are already been drawn in the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner contest, despite the next election being 10 months away.

The Labour incumbent Kim McGuinness has been challenged by her Conservative opponent, Duncan Crute, to set out her position on Black Lives Matter (BLM) UK’s call to ‘defund the police’.

Mr Crute was selected as his party’s PCC candidate ahead of the scheduled vote in May this year, which was then postponed to May 2021 due to coronavirus.

He suggested that the Labour Party ‘seems to be unable to reach a consensus on whether or not they support our police force’.

But Ms McGuinness hit back to say that it is only the Conservative Party which has defunded Northumbria Police.

Mr Crute’s call came after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer prompted criticism from campaigners for dismissing the aim as ‘nonsense’ in an interview with BBC Breakfast.

Responding to the former director of public prosecutions on Twitter, BLM UK said: ‘When we say ‘Defund the police’ we mean ‘Invest in programmes that actually keep us safe like youth services, mental health and social care, education, jobs and housing. Key services to support the most vulnerable before they come into contact with the criminal justice system.

‘While black people are now incarcerated at the same rate as African Americans, the prison population in Britain has almost doubled since the 1980s. This has affected all working class people in Britain.

‘The expansion of police and prison power has not made our communities safer. We can no longer allow governments from any party to police or imprison away social problems. Neither can we allow former prosecutors to tell us what our demands should be.’

Mr Crute said: “Deliberately seeking a lawless society is just nonsense and Sir Keir was correct to make that point.

“As the Labour Party seems to be unable to reach a consensus on whether or not they support our police force, I think our PCC here has a duty to make her position known.

“Next year we will be going to the polls to decide who should be the PCC for Northumbria Police. I can state unequivocally that I will be fighting to increase police funding, not defunding them.”

In response, Ms McGuinness said: “Last month, Duncan called for the Monument in Newcastle to be protected from the mob, even though no one here was actually calling for it to go.

“This month, Duncan is calling for police funding to be secured from the mob, even though there is zero risk of police defunding calls turning into action here.

“If Duncan wants to oversee the police, he needs to learn the importance of good evidence.”

She added: “The only people who have defunded Northumbria Police is the Conservative Party, which cut 1,100 police officer jobs and more than £142million from its budget.

“We need certainty now that the cost of Covid will not lead to further Government cuts.”

Kim McGuinness succeeded her Labour colleague Dame Vera Baird as PCC following a by-election in July 2019, where she beat independent Georgina Hill, a Northumberland county councillor for Berwick, in the second round.

The Conservative candidate at the time, Robbie Moore, came third. Also a Northumberland county councillor at the time, representing Alnwick, he subsequently became the MP for Keighley at the General Election in December.

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