Policing minister has purse stolen while at annual policing conference

Labour’s Policing Minister Diana Johnson had her purse stolen at an annual conference of senior police officers on Tuesday.

Johnson delivered a speech warning about an “epidemic” of theft at an event held at a four-star hotel outside Kenilworth.

Warwickshire Police has since confirmed it is investigating a report of theft at the hotel.

The Home Office separately confirmed that Johnson had her belongings stolen at the conference.

It revealed no security risks had been identified but declined to comment further on the matter.

Johnson’s purse was stolen on the same day that 1,750 prisoners were handed early release from prison amid fears of overcrowding.

Delivering his conference address, PSA president Nick Smart warned “chronic under-investment” in policing in recent years that he said had left forces “financially drowning” and “operating on a shoestring”.

He also criticised the decision to release swathes of convicts early by warning police faced the “prospect of arresting offenders who can then not be placed in prison, and dealing with the fallout from the thousands of criminals being released early today, many potentially without proper rehabilitation and release plans”.

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In a social media post published after her address to senior officers, Johnson did not mention the theft.

She instead said: “Pleasure to speak at the PSA conference.

“We have a mission to tackle serious crime, antisocial behaviour and restore neighbourhood policing.

“What I’ve seen in my short time in this role has given me renewed confidence that we’ll succeed.”

Sir Keir Starmer is pledging to increase the number of police officers after a spike in criminal offences.

The Prime Minister’s commitment includes plans to hire 3,000 new officers and 4,000 police community support officers.

Police recorded theft witnessed a year-on-year increase of three per cent in March 2024, the Office for National Statistics’ recent report has revealed.

The increase puts the overall number of police recorded theft incidents at 1.8 million.