Howard on street patrol

Michael Howard has sharply criticised London's inner-city policing after he spent two hours in late-night Brixton without seeing a single officer on the streets.

The Conservative leader hit out when he joined crowds outside the pubs and clubs of the south London neighbourhood.

His visit came two days after 16-year-old Robert Levy was stabbed to death in Hackney.

The Opposition leader went on patrol in Brixton with the Street Pastors, a black Christian group that tries to defuse violence and steer teenagers from guns, knives, drugs and crime.

Setting out at 10pm on Saturday with eight volunteers, he followed a route through the Angell Town estate, along Coldharbour Lane and Brixton Road.

Mr Howard, who did not take his Special Branch protection officers with him, met drinkers and passers-by in an area notorious for gang-related crime.

He said: "I am frankly surprised we have not seen a single officer on patrol in the whole time I have spent here.

"I don't think we can ever get to grips with the crime problems in an area like this if the police do not have a visible presence on the street.

"Where are they? They are almost certainly stuck in the police station filling in forms and carrying out laborious paperwork. It's not good enough."

Mr Howard said the Conservatives-would reduce police red tape so officers could spend more time on the beat.

The Street Pastors have mounted late-night patrols in Brixton for eight years, and also tour Hackney.

They are led by Reverend Les Isaac, 47, who preaches at the Christian Life Fellowship church in Brixton Hill. Volunteers have intervened to stop guns being used in g ang fights, persuaded teenagers to stop taking drugs and supported families worried their children are getting into crime.

Mr Howard said the group was an example of a voluntary organisation doing work in places the authorities could not reach so effectively.

After a half-hour briefing at the group's headquarters in Overton Road, they walked around local estates looking for teenagers in difficulty or signs of trouble.

Outside the Dog Star pub in Coldharbour Lane, the former hardline Home Secretary was recognised for the first time. "Nice to see you," said a man in his twenties, shaking Mr Howard's hand. "But what are you doing here?"

Mr Howard, who seemed oblivious to the occasional waft of cannabis on the street, began to attract curious glances.

But reactions were almost universally friendly. " Good on yer, Mikey," said one man, "I hope you win." A dreadlocked man glowered at the Conservative leader but calmed instantly when Mr Isaac touched his arm.

Mr Isaac, 47, said the Street Pastors were seen as "on the people's side". He said: "A woman Street Pastor intervened when around 60 men were starting a fight outside a party. By the end they were calling her 'Mama Pastor' and went home peacefully.

"Another overheard a man calling for his 'machine' [gun] on his mobile phone after a row in a shop. She told him he was out of order and he went away."

He added: "A lot of the young men have knives. One told me he had his 'machine' for protection and his mother had CS gas in her bedroom."

The only ugly incident during the walkabout came towards midnight when a stocky white man confronted Mr Howard, shouting abuse and railing about the poll tax and the demise of trade unions.

Arriving back at Overton Road, Mr Howard said he had been impressed. "We should encourage churches to make the most of the authority they have, particularly in areas like this.

"I don't believe the state can solve everything and solutions that emerge from the community can have a powerful impact."