On her first day back in Parliament after the Christmas recess, recently re-elected Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, Cat Smith, raised the issue of crime in Fleetwood. The video of her speaking can be viewed on her Facebook page.

She said, “Today, on the first day back in Parliament after the Christmas recess, I raised the very concerning issue of crime in Fleetwood. We have just seen another robbery at a One Stop shop in the town with a member of staff held at knife-point. This comes soon after staff at the Halifax bank were threatened by a man wielding a knife, who made off with cash.

“I asked the Minister to acknowledge that his Government’s cuts to police numbers ten years ago were the wrong decisions to make – he instead chose to make cheap political points rather than express any sympathies with the shop workers. It must be a terrifying ordeal and I do hope the latest victim is recovering and getting the support they need and deserve.

“A decade of cuts to police, with 750 cut in Lancashire, have had consequences and the Government should be big enough to own their mistakes.”