Brian Orpin

Children smashing up shops in broad daylight, stealing and even filming themselves doing it as if it were a game, is a much bigger problem than is being recognised. This is a total collapse of consequences. To those making snide comments about race or black kids - you do not see scenes like this in Lagos or Nairobi. Not because the children there are different, but because actions have consequences. There are clear boundaries. Parents, communities, and the authorities do not wring their hands or look the other way. Here, we have created a culture where too many young people believe they can do what they like and nothing will happen. That is the problem. And we should be honest about where that leads. If a child loots a shop today, films it for social media, and faces no real consequence, they are going to do much worse tomorrow. This is why under my leadership Conservatives are focusing on ENFORCEMENT, not just making more and more rules. Our Take Back Our Streets Campaign is about getting 10,000 more police officers, immediate justice and immediate punishment. But let’s be honest, this is not just a policing issue. It is a failure of authority at every level. Parents need to know where their children are and what they are doing. Discipline should start at home, not in a courtroom. We have also weakened the system around them. Deterrence is the backbone of criminal justice. Labour have changed the law so anyone receiving a sentence under 12 months will automatically walk free, instead receiving a suspended sentence. When people believe offences like this will not lead to meaningful punishment, we should not be surprised when more of it happens. You get more of what you tolerate. It’s not like we haven’t been here before. In 2011, when riots spread, the Conservative response was swift and visible. People saw consequences. And behaviour rapidly changed. That is what is missing now. This all comes down to fairness. Law-abiding people should not feel like fools while gangs smash and grab without consequence. The sad truth is the communities most damaged by this behaviour are often the very ones these young people come from. Only one approach will fix this: clear rules, real consequences, and the confidence to enforce them. It’s time to Take Back Our Streets and bring back a culture of enforcement.

Give it a rest The new cap level is only £79 below the level at the General Election and only because you moved part of the Renewables Obligation cost to taxation This will cost taxpayers about £7-8 billion extra per year You're not lowering costs, you're just changing who pays for them

@Saskiaaa_____ And in many cases, you could still claim UC and therefore get all the 'social' tariff goods and services.

£26436.80 is the new min wage annual salary (40 hrs p/wk). And as the min wage rises, regular salaries don't. So many people will begin to ask themselves 'why am I working this highly stressful job that needed qualifications and a tonne of bullshit paperwork and police checks just to earn 5k more a year than I would stacking shelves at Lidl?'

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi delivered a report. The situation on the frontline is currently quite tense – the Russian army is trying to step up its assault activity. However, this is only leading to higher losses on their side and is not disrupting our operations. Importantly, Russia has failed to achieve its objectives in the border areas of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, as well as in the Donetsk region, and is once again pushing back its timelines. In the southern direction, our units continue carrying out their assigned tasks – I thank every unit, every soldier, sergeant, and officer for this. We also discussed tasks related to deep strikes with the Commander-in-Chief. Glory to Ukraine!

And yet… yesterday Keir Starmer hosted in Downing Street a man who laughed and smiled as he was photographed holding up the heads of those he had slaughtered.

Here's my @Telegraph column on the marauding mob last night in Clapham telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/0… Another day, another mini-riot, as gangs of marauding youths run amok – this time in Clapham, south London. A few days ago social media was full of footage of what seemed to be teenagers (they were all in hoodies so one can’t be sure how old they were) causing chaos in Wolverhampton, throwing eggs at anyone they could find. Video then emerged of hundreds of young men and women rushing a streetwear pop-up shop in Soho in central London. The footage was notable only for being not remotely notable; there was nothing in it that was in any way surprising to anyone aware of the miserable reality of modern Britain. This week’s it’s been Clapham. The chaos began two days ago, but spiralled last night after crowds of youths can allegedly be seen attempting to loot the local Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Boots, forcing them and the rest of the high street to close. The footage is again both remarkable – because it shows how such rioting and lawlessness is now entirely commonplace – and not at all remarkable – because such rioting and lawlessness is now entirely commonplace. Across these two nights there were, it seems, just four arrests, of two girls on Saturday for shoplifting and assault, and then two last night on suspicion of assaulting a member of the emergency services. The police told the marauders to disperse but when they were ignored and the rioters carried on, the police stood and watched. Understandably, much of the reaction has been to criticise the police’s refusal to make arrests. The Met issued a statement saying that, “Officers will remain in the area to offer support and respond to any concerns from local residents and businesses.” Of course, the best form of “support” would have been to flood the area with officers, arrest the mob and thus remove them from the scene. But what would actually have been the point of arresting anyone? We all know what would then happen: they would get a caution, go home, and that would be that. It is no wonder such lawlessness is now normal: years of lax enforcement mean we have sent a clear message that if you want to behave in this way no one in authority gives a damn. That’s why stealing from shops jumped from 1.1 million in 2022 to 5.5 million last year. And there were 1600 incidents of violence and abuse – up from 455 incidents per day pre-pandemic. Speak to almost any shopkeeper, from giant supermarkets to the local corner shop, and they’ll tell you the same thing: that thieves have become blatant and shameless. Whether they come mob-handed, as in Clapham, or wander into a shop alone, they have no compunction about taking what they want and walking out. Then they do it again. I was recently in my local Boots and saw someone do just that – the assistant said the same person does it pretty much daily, but the police aren’t interested, and the shop staff are, understandably, afraid to confront the thief as they have no idea if he is dangerous. So he carries on. The unpleasant truth is that we can expect to watch more videos like the one from Clapham last night. It shows the truth of modern Britain, and exposes just how lawless we have allowed our country to become.

Those feral mobs in Clapham are a disgrace. This is what happens when we fail to punish bad behaviour. Fare-dodging, shoplifting and phone-snatching are all virtually legal in London now. We have given a green light to lawlessness, says Brendan O’Neill buff.ly/ZSWxxzM

We just got this Force Majeure letter today from AirGas, our helium supplier (for our food science lab, where we have multiple mass-spec instruments that use helium). The letter says that helium supplies are cut off, and if you're lucky, you might be allotted HALF the helium you need. Even then, you will be charged extra for any helium you get. A LOT extra. So basically, every mass spec lab in America is about to go offline. AirGas is expressly invoking FM and saying they cannot meet their contractual obligations. Not their fault. Trump did this by attacking Iran. My lab is fine, of course, because I saw this coming and I ordered my lab staff to buy a one-year supply weeks ago. We already have it in place. So we're still up and running with plenty of helium. But very few lab science people are paying attention to the Strait of Hormuz, so they are getting blindsided by this. Trump's war is shutting down science labs all across the country right now. Don't dare call this "winning." It's a loss for America. And the world.

Some cases are doomed to failure from the off. This is one such. Advice should be given that the case is hopeless but that is not the advice that be will be given. The undoubted plan, as in all these types of cases, is to bully, in this case the IOC, into coming up with a fudge.

I feel this conversation is too centered around non-crime hate incidents. They're just a symptom. The disease is grooming of UK police by Stonewall and similar groups. They lied about the law for over a decade and UK police believed them. That's the scandal.

You’re ruining the lives of young people, and so out of touch you gloat about it. You’ve made Britain’s youth unemployment among the highest in the world. Higher than the EU for the first time ever. That’s why you’ll shortly be unemployed too.

So Rupert Lowe found hidden immigration data that the UK Government is keeping secret Ofcourse they didn't even bother giving him a proper response

This isn’t “a rough estate”. It’s Clapham High Street – £800k terraces, brunch spots, Waitrose – brought to a standstill by feral youth mobs in balaclavas. When even the “good areas” look like this, you don’t have a policing problem. You have a political problem.

Indeed. As standard rate landfill taxes have increased, landfill tax receipt has reduced. The taxes are so extortionate - more than the true cost of the presumed negative externalities caused by landfill ($5-$9 according to the IMF in 2019).

With respect to him, this person is a man. I have no problem with what he wears or what he does in private. But he is a man. And it is not transphobic to say so. It is insulting and inappropriate to the 1.5 million women who suffer with endometriosis for him to have been appointed to speak for them. Today I have written to Endometriosis South Coast to urge a reconsideration of this appointment.

It costs £240 for a medium sized van to unload at a recycling centre. That's an average transit van size. If you turn up in a LWB Sprinter it's £350. In 2014 a LWB Sprinter fully loaded with house renovation waste cost me less than £80. Fly tipping is low risk, high reward.

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Today, Denby has formally appointed administrators. We want to reassure customers that our stores & website continue to trade. We are desperately sad for those affected & want to thank our community for the support. The search for investors continues: denbypottery.com/pages/save-den…

Last year I attended a community police event in Clapham. They laughed at the suggestion of arresting youths for ‘minor’ shoplifting.. They wouldn’t bother arresting someone smoking cannabis. Why would they care about such ‘small’ crimes? This is the inevitable outcome 👇