Selina Scott has blamed London Mayor Sadiq Khan for her terrifying mugging after claiming he is not keeping people ‘safe’ in the capital.
The veteran broadcast, 74, was left ‘battered’ and ‘humiliated’ after a gang of thieves assaulted her in broad daylight before stealing all her valuables outside a branch of Waterstones in Piccadilly in June.
Seconds after leaving the shop, Ms Scott was struck on the back of her right knee, leaving her feeling as if she had been ‘stabbed’ and was quickly surrounded by a ‘well dressed’ group of seven or eight men and women.
Within seconds they had managed to unzip her bag and make off with her wallet – containing all her cash and cards – as well as her driving licence, meaning she was forced to fend for herself and seek sanctuary.
But the former ITN News At Ten anchor was shocked to find no police officers nearby to report the crime and was forced to walk home ‘for several miles’ still reeling from the traumatic ordeal.
Officers then failed to attend a scheduled visit to her home the following day, citing a lack of available police cars. Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley later apologised and admitted the force should have done better.
Months on from the attack, Ms Scott remains frustrated over the supposed lack of safety in London and the Met’s failure to robustly tackle such crimes, which have become ‘rife’ in the capital.
But Ms Scott believes the brunt of the blame lies with London Mayor Sadiq Khan for failing to provide security teams like his own to members of the public.
Selina Scott (pictured), 74, was leaving a branch of Waterstones in London on Tuesday afternoon when she was viciously attacked and robbed by an organised gang
The bus stop next to Waterstones Piccadilly Caption where Ms Scott was attacked and robbed
Ms Scott blamed London Mayor Sadiq Khan (pictured) for her terrifying mugging after claiming he is not keeping people ‘safe’ in the capital
‘Sir Mark Rowley had the decency to apologise,’ Ms Scott told The Telegraph.
‘I actually blame the Mayor of London. More than I blame the police, actually, because the Mayor of London took on the job to keep the people of London safe, the police come under him.
‘Everywhere you go there is security for well-known people, the Royal family have security. The Mayor of London has security. So what’s different? Why doesn’t the public have security? Why don’t I get it?’
Ms Scott said she would now carry a hidden 20 note on her when she ventures into central London and advised others to do the same.
‘I would say to anyone walking through central London, put 20 quid in your shoe or down a sock or in your knickers or somewhere, because the worst thing was not having any money,’ she said.
Ms Scott has previously called for the London Mayor to step down in the wake her of terrifying mugging, claiming he has ‘lost control of policing in London’.
‘Sadiq Khan is now a knight of the realm, knights of the realm have a code of chivalry,’ she told Good Morning Britain in June. ‘It would be the honourable thing for him to do to step down and let someone else try and tackle this tsunami of crime.
‘London is not the place you think it is. It’s got lovely shops, it’s got lovely exhibitions, it’s got that great feeling, but there’s this underbelly of danger. I am not going to the West End in a hurry again and I advise anyone else thinking about this to think twice.’
Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley appearing on LBC in June when he apologised to Ms Scott and admitted the force should have done better
Ms Scott previously told The Mail On Sunday how the terrifying assault – which took place on busy Piccadilly – left her ‘shattered and traumatised’.
She said she was attacked by ‘around seven or eight’ smartly dressed men and women, who appeared to be of East Asian origin.
The broadcaster explained that she felt a sharp pain in the back of her leg after she was brutally hit moments after leaving the book shop.
She then felt a tug on her shoulder as the thugs tried to wrench her bag away – before she was forced to engage in a tug-of-war with her assailant.
With astonishing bravery given they were carrying what appeared to be a weapon, Ms Scott fought back and was able to keep hold of the bag – only for one of the practised thieves to deftly unzip it and remove her purse before running off.
Ms Scott says she felt ‘furious’ at the lack of a police presence to deter or capture the criminals, despite being told by officers that such muggings were ‘rife’.
She told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I’m mentally resilient and physically fit, but if they can attack me in such a brazen way they can attack anyone. You’re left feeling not just traumatised but stupid that you have somehow let it happen.
‘I’m also furious about the lack of police on our streets. No wonder the gang who set about me have a sense of impunity – they can do anything they want because they know no one will stop them.’
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Ms Scott did not require medical attention but suffered severe bruising to her leg in the assault. ‘I am now only too relieved it wasn’t a knife they used,’ she said.
Adding to her frustration, officers failed to attend a scheduled visit to her home the following day, citing a lack of available police cars.
The incident has raised serious concerns about public safety and police presence in the heart of the capital.
During a call-in on Nick Ferrari’s show on LBC in June, Sir Mark Rowley admitted that the force could have given the broadcaster a better service in the wake of the attack.
‘I can feel for her. She’s obviously very upset. She’s a 70-odd-year-old lady who had a very frightening experience,’ he said.
‘The officers weren’t able to give the service that we would expect on that day. I’m sorry about that.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman previously said: ‘While we understand that the victim in this case was frustrated that she couldn’t see any police officers on the street at the time of the incident, we would like to reassure her and the wider public that a significant number of officers patrol the West End every day to target offenders, including those carrying out thefts and robberies.
‘They patrol not just in uniform on foot, but also in plain clothes and in vehicles to have the best opportunity to identify and apprehend suspects.
‘We would be happy to talk to the victim in this case to better understand her concerns.’
The Mail has contacted City Hall for comment.
