Former BBC presenter and broadcaster Selina Scott says she deserves security similar to that given to members of the Royal Family and Sadiq Khan after she was mugged by a gang who surrounded her and hit on the back of the leg her before stealing her purse. Scott, who made her name in the 1980s presenting News at 10, followed by BBC Breakfast Time and The Clothes Show, says she blames Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for the attack near Waterstones on Piccadilly which left her feeling ‘humiliated’.
The 74-year-old, who was mugged in June and received received an apology from the head of the Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley, has spoken out to ask why the public don’t get security like Sir Sadiq and members of the Royal Family.
“Everywhere you go there is security for well-known people, the Royal Family have security,” she told the Telegraph. “The Mayor of London has security. So what’s different? Why doesn’t the public have security? Why don’t I get it?”
‘Mayor of London takes on the job to keep Londoners safe’
In the interview Scott also said she blames Sir Sadiq for the incident. “I actually blame the mayor of London,” Scott told the newspaper. “More than I blame the police, actually, because the mayor of London took on the job to keep the people of London safe, the police come under him.”
Recounting the incident, she said she ran from Piccadilly to Leicester Square without finding a police officer, despite seeing “all kinds of security officers”. The nearby West End Central police station was closed four years ago and the day after the mugging officers failed to go to her home for a planned appointment because there was no available police car.
In June, Sir Mark admitted on Nick Ferrari’s show on LBC that the force could have given the broadcaster a better service. “I can feel for her. She’s obviously very upset. She’s a 70-odd-year-old lady who had a very frightening experience,” he said.
“The officers weren’t able to give the service that we would expect on that day. I’m sorry about that.”
Scott said she had to walk miles home after the attack as the gang had taken her money. She said: “I would say to anyone walking through central London, put 20 quid in your shoe or down a sock or in your knickers or somewhere, because the worst thing was not having any money. I’m fairly fit, so I could walk, but I did try to get on a bus.”
After the attack, she told LBC she felt “humiliated and angry”. She added: “But most of all (I’m feeling) fearful for all those who are listening to Nick’s show and feel that they can walk the streets of London safely, because I’m telling you, they can’t.”
Sadiq Khan says West End to get ‘50% increase’ in police
A spokeswoman for the Mayor of London said: “Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe. Sadiq is determined to do all he can to tackle crime and its complex causes, and build on progress that has been achieved in London, with the number of young people being injured with a knife down 26%, homicides down 17%, gun crime with lethal barrel discharges down 43% and burglary down 27% since 2016.
“The Mayor has doubled his annual investment in the Met Police from City Hall and will continue to invest record amounts in policing, as we know there is more to do. That is why, with City Hall funding, the West End will see a 50% increase in the number of police officers on the beat and an additional 90 police officers working in new or enhanced town centre teams in hotspot areas. These officers will focus on tackling shoplifting, anti-social behaviour and phone robbery.”
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