As of the start of 2026, London's murder rate had dropped to the lowest it's been in more than a decade, making the capital one of the safest Western cities in the world according to the Mayor. The statistics certainly paint a different picture to the viral videos suggesting London is lawless peddled by the far right on social media.
Tackling violence against women and girls is not just a priority for my government. It is central to who I am. Before entering politics, when I led the Crown Prosecution Service as director of public prosecutions, I worked with victims of rape, domestic abuse and sexual violence, and I saw, up close, the lifelong damage these crimes cause. And I learned that when systems fail victims, the harm does not end, it deepens.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.
