US supercop dismisses our gang problem as 'laughable'

The American "supercop" brought in to advise David Cameron on gangs caused outrage today by calling Britain's gun crime problem "laughable".

Bill Bratton, who introduced zero-tolerance policing to New York and Los Angeles, also described UK gangsters as "wannabes" copying US criminals.

Mr Bratton was tipped as a potential Met Police Commissioner and was said to be the Prime Minister's preferred choice for the role.

But the move was opposed by Home Secretary Theresa May, who insisted that Britain's top police officer should not be a foreigner.

Mr Bratton, who has also been championed by Boris Johnson, advises the Government on tackling gang crime.

In an interview with US magazine The New Yorker, Mr Bratton said: "The firearm problem in England is almost laughable in the sense of how small it is. The gangs here, I would describe as, basically, wannabes.

"They're heavily influenced by American gangs - in dress, in language, in the stupid signs they use."

MPs and anti-gun campaigners reacted angrily to the comments, describing them as "disappointing" and "insulting".

Keith Vaz MP, Labour chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, said: "His comments are disappointing and may be seen as insulting to victims of gang violence in London and elsewhere. The phrases that he uses are most bizarre and will not help us solve the very difficult issue of gang crime in London and our major cities.

"He should be welcoming the fact that this is an issue that can be brought under control - rather than appearing to send a message out which suggests that they should become tougher."

Former Met commander and current Lib-Dem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick said: "Everything is relative but to suggest gun crime and gangs are not a serious problem in London indicates he has insufficient understanding of London and Londoners."

Peter Woodhams, whose son was shot dead in 2006, said Mr Bratton's comments were "not the right way to look at the UK's problem with gun crime".

Mr Woodhams's son, also called Peter, was shot three times by 18-year-old Bradley Tucker in front of his fiancée Jane Bowden and their three-year-old son after confronting a group of youths about smoking cannabis in front of the family home in Canning Town.

Mr Woodhams, a 22-year-old satellite TV engineer, had previously been slashed across the face when he confronted the gang. His father said today: "Yes, gun crime is a bigger problem in the US - but there is not one parent in this country who has been impacted who would think it is a small problem."

Mr Bratton told the Standard: "My apologies to any victim offended. That was not my intent. My points are that gangs in Britain need to be properly targeted. British gangs appear to be emulating gangs in my country and that is a problem. [But] in the US gun use is frequently associated with gang violence, which is not generally the case in the UK."