I’m extremely worried about the use of guns in the Wood Green, Turnpike Lane area with the weekend seeing another shooting and a stabbing.  I’ve arranged an urgent meeting with Haringey’s Borough Commander and Operation Trident on Monday morning and will continue to urge this Government to do much more to tackle rising violence on our streets.  That doesn’t just mean more Police, it also means crucial early intervention work, something I’ve consistently called for, and ensuring schools and youth services are adequately resourced to help tackle the cycle of violence. 

I was appalled that Boris Johnson’s Government yet again stripped Lord Dubs’ commitments to unaccompanied refugee children out of the Brexit Bill when it returned to Parliament on Wednesday.  I voted against their callousness – we should be doing everything we can to reunite these desperate children with their families.  Anything less is a moral disgrace.

In my new role as Shadow Sports Minister, I met with the organisers of the Commonwealth Games, highlighted the need for their suppliers to pay the Living Wage and discussed my concerns over sponsorship from alcohol and betting companies.  Separately I’m alarmed at news that the Metropolitan Police are to begin using facial recognition technology on the streets of London and will be raising questions about its potential use at major sporting events.  I’ve had concerns raised with me about leisure centres also exploring the technology.  There always needs to be a balance between security and privacy and by working with fan groups, the Police can and have worked to build trust and establish an effective policing operation to keep fans safe.  The overbearing use of facial recognition technology risks criminalising fans and undermining this trust, something I am very keen to avoid.  I’m writing to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to ask if they have any plans to deploy the technology at sporting fixtures. 

In the constituency, I held meetings with the Chief Executive of the Whittington Hospital and separately with Haringey Clinical Commissioning Group to discuss issues including GP provision and outpatient transport services.  I held a busy advice surgery in Wood Green where housing remains the number one issue and over the weekend I attended Haringey’s moving Holocaust Remembrance Day event and gave a reading.