Pensioner’s killing shames the police

AT four in the afternoon in an unremarkable suburb of west London, an 87-year-old man was stabbed to death on his mobility scooter. It was the sixth murder in the capital in four days – the 59th this year – and arguably the most shocking of them all.

Thomas O’Halloran was by all accounts a kindly man who busked with his accordion, most recently raising money for Ukraine. That anyone could see him as a legitimate target for such appalling violence is inconceivable. That the perpetrator thought they could get away with it is grotesque.

It shows how far the police have conceded control of the streets, emboldened thugs and let down the communities they are meant to protect.

In London, violence is reaching epidemic proportions – accentuated by a woeful lack of leadership. Predictably, London Mayor Sadiq Khan was wringing his hands yesterday over Mr O’Halloran’s death. But his ineptitude is a huge part of the problem.

He’s happy to swan off to California on a junket to discuss drug legalisation, but when it comes to tackling the bloodbath happening on his watch, he has nothing useful to say. Equally, Scotland Yard too has pussy-footed around the growing problem of gang violence and knife crime.

It has focused far too much on such things as internet hate crime and bogus historic sex offences and nowhere near enough on the crimes that really matter to people – burglary, robbery and assault.

So will anything change as a result of this gruesome killing? There’s no point looking to Mr Khan for leadership but the new Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke, has at least been making the right noises.

He has rebuked chief constables for their failure to investigate serious crime. Several forces have been placed in special measures and action is being taken to raise their game – but change won’t happen overnight.

The casual killing of a pensioner on a suburban street shows just how far the police have failed in their primary duty to protect the public. Regaining their trust will be a difficult and long-term task.