Standing up for Croydon’s riot victims

It is almost two years now since the riots hit Croydon. Businesses were burnt to the ground, shops were looted, and homes were destroyed.

The Prime Minister and the Mayor of London walked along the devastated London Road in the central part of Croydon and promised people that they would not be forgotten and that, while the state had failed to protect them during the riots, it would stand by them as they tried to rebuild their lives.

However, I put in a Freedom of Information request to the Metropolitan Police and found out that that now, nearly two years after the riots took place, only one seventh of the £250 million that was claimed had been paid out. The Metropolitan Police rejected outright half of all claims that were filed, yet the Government continue to claim that the majority of cases have been settled.

I called a debate in the House of Commons on 13 June to raise the case of victims who lost everything and who feel the Government has given up on them and walked away. By raising their case in Parliament I hope to embarrass the Government into keeping the promises they made to Croydon’s riot victims nearly two years ago.

A full link to my speech can be found here:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130605/debtext/130605-0004.htm#13060586000002