London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Labour MP Chris Webb has become the fresh victim of London phone robbers as he was attacked and mouthed by a masked gang on bikes.
Chris Webb, who is MP for Blackpool South, expressed he was targeted by about five or six young people who robbed his phone, as he returned to his apartment in the capital. “At 10 pm last night, as I was returning to my flat in London from work on foot, I was attacked and mugged by a group of five or six masked youths on bikes,” he stated.
What did Chris Webb say about the attack in London?
“They stole my phone but luckily I have no wounds and I am OK.” He thanked the Met police for their reaction, adding: “The officers who helped me went above and beyond and are a remarkable credit to the force.” Mr Webb posted regarding the mugging on X, where several MPs have responded with messages of worry. Mr Webb states he used the tracking on his phone via his smartwatch to lead police to an area where they caught someone with stolen phones – but his phone was not among them.
Last night, as I was returning to my flat in London, I was attacked and mugged by a group of individuals.
— Chris Webb MP (@ChrisWebbMP) November 5, 2024
Luckily, I have no injuries and I am ok. Unfortunately, they just took my phone so I’m without one for the foreseeable future.
I want to thank the @metpoliceuk for their…
Further, he said: “I’m a big guy. I’m six foot two … I’m not an easy target, but these were confident enough to kind of grab me and stop me so they could get away,” he stated.
“I wasn’t on the phone at the time, and I didn’t hear them, which is remarkable in itself, of how stealthy these are, because these are on bikes,” he added. So the fact that you know, and I’m normally pretty aware of my surroundings, I’ve got pretty decent reflexes and things like that from training and boxing training. And I’m just surprised because if I grabbed hold of one of them, they would have gone flying on the bike. After all, I wouldn’t have let go. So I’m kind of surprised how they managed to get so close to me without me realising.”
How have London phone theft rates increased recently?
It comes as phone robberies in the capital have skyrocketed in recent years. There were 66,528 phone stealings recorded in London between October last year and September this year – up 40 per cent compared to the previous year. The Government has promised to crack down on the crime after figures last month revealed 78,000 people across the country had phones or bags robbed from them in “snatch thefts” in the year to March 2024 – a sharp elevation of 153 per cent compared to the 31,000 such thefts in the earlier 12 months.