Sajid Javid has revealed he could have been drawn into a life of crime, as he admitted the bloodshed on Britain’s streets has left him fearing for his children’s safety.
The home secretary described how he avoided being lured into shoplifting or drug dealing when growing up on what was dubbed “the most dangerous street in Britain”.
He cited his personal experiences as a boy, and now as a father, as he set out his blueprint for tackling the “national emergency” of surging street violence.
In a speech in east London, Javid said: “It’s not so difficult to see how, instead of being in the cabinet, I could have actually turned out to have a life of crime myself.
“There were the pupils at school that shoplifted, and asked if I wanted to help.
“There were the drug dealers who stood near my school gates and told me that if joined in, I too could make some easy money. But I was lucky. I had loving and supporting parents, who despite their own circumstances gave me security.”
Javid, a father-of-four, described how recent increases in serious violence and knife crime have affected him as a parent.
He said: “I may be the home secretary, but I’m not ashamed to confess I have stayed up late at night waiting to hear the key turning in the door.
“And only then going to bed knowing that they have come home safe and sound.
“I know that if I don’t feel safe on the streets, if I don’t think the streets are safe enough for my own children, or if we see our communities being torn apart by crime, then something has gone terribly wrong.”
There were 285 homicides where the method of killing was by a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales in 2017/18- the highest number since records started in 1946.
In the year to September, police recorded around 1.5 million “violence against the person” offences – a jump of nearly a fifth on the previous 12 months.
Javid’s speech came as cabinet ministers jostled for the leadership of the Conservative Party.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, speaking on a visit to a military base in Suffolk today, said there are “so many amazing candidates that are obviously looking for votes” to take over from Theresa May.
Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary and potential leadership candidate, this morning said May would struggle to hang on to power if she cannot get her Brexit deal through parliament before the European elections.
Over the weekend Philip Hammond mocked prominent Tory Brexiteers for engaging in a “suicide pact” during failed bids to beat May to the Tory leadership last time around.