MP blames criminal Brummies for creeping 'violence and lawlessness' in his leafy constituency

A Midland MP has blamed Birmingham crime gangs sneaking over the border onto his patch for rising lawlessness. Bromsgrove Tory MP Bradley Thomas told the House of Commons yesterday, Tuesday, January 28, his constituents were ‘sick and tired’ of Brummies heading to the area to commit crime.

Mr Thomas was speaking in a debate as MPs quizzed Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who represents Birmingham Ladywood, on the backlog of cases at crown court. Mr Thomas referenced an armed raid at the Romsley Co-op, a short distance from Birmingham and the Black Country, on Friday, May 3 which saw three men brandish knives and a hammer and threaten staff.

He also mentioned a second raid at Wythall Post Office in Drakes Cross Parade in Hollywood at around 7pm on Monday, December 30. A staff member was attacked and raiders broke into a safe, stole a large amount of cash, a computer and a mobile phone.

READ MORE: Co-op staff threatened with knives and hammer in terrifying armed robbery

Mr Thomas suggested the criminals in both raids were Birmingham and said: “Constituents across Bromsgrove and the villages are sick and tired of violent criminality and lawlessness creeping over the border from Birmingham into our constituency.

Bromsgrove MP Bradley Thomas has said his constituents are 'sick and tired' of criminals heading over the border from Birmingham citing two armed raids on the northern fringe of his area
Bromsgrove MP Bradley Thomas has said his constituents are 'sick and tired' of criminals heading over the border from Birmingham citing two armed raids on the northern fringe of his area -Credit:Bradley Thomas/YouTube

“In the past year, Romsley Co-op and Wythall post office at Drakes Cross—both of which are on the northern fringe of my constituency—have been raided, and it is hard to believe proximity to Birmingham is not a factor in that.”

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He asked Ms Mahmood: “What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure prosecutions are pursued and custodial sentences are given in the first instance, to crack down on crime and make our area safe again?”

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In response, she questioned whether Mr Thomas was ‘carving out’ Bromsgrove as being separate from any other part of the UK. She said: “Through our landmark review of sentencing, this Government are ensuring sentencing is fit for purpose.

“That will ultimately put us in a position where we can crack down on reoffending, thereby cutting crime and the number of victims. I am not sure whether the honourable gentleman is proposing carving out his part of the world from any other part of the country.

“But his argument about boundaries can apply to any part of the UK. That is why we need a functioning justice system for the whole of England and Wales, and that is what this Government are going to deliver.”

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READ MORE: Masked gang ransack Post Office and flee in a Honda Civic

On the Romsley Co-op raid, West Mercia Police said the raiders fled in a Ford Fiesta towards Halesowen. The Wythall Post Office gang were said to have escaped in a black Honda Civic with a registration number starting with PY08 but the force did not say in which direction they went.