Labour MP Graham Stringer blasts Greater Manchester Police chief

Graham Stringer

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An MP has made an astonishing attack on a Chief Constable, branding him "more of a social worker than a copper" over his response to last summer's riots.

Labour MP Graham Stringer blasted Greater Manchester Chief Constable Peter Fahy for saying "no-one would have backed us if we had cracked down hard on rioters".

Mr Stringer, MP for Blackley and Broughton, also described Mr Fahy's comments as "vacuous"

Rioters caused mayhem on the streets of Manchester and Salford last August, sparked by violence and looting in Tottenham after police marksmen shot dead Mark Duggan.

Former leader of Manchester City Council, Mr Stringer said: "The statements of our Chief Constable Peter Fahy show him to be more of a social worker than a copper and his tactical response to this and possible future riots to be vacuous.

"The public response to the hard line taken by the courts indicates he is wrong, as do the opinion polls. His job is to protect people and property."

Mr Stringer called top cop's statement "an abdication of that responsibility by relying on a false (and probably unknowable) assessment of public opinion."

He also questioned Mr Fahy's comments when he said that "rather than concentrating on the areas where there were disturbances we should look at areas like Moss Side which did not riot."

In a blog letter on the Manchester Confidential entertainment website Mr Stringer added: "This is like saying that when a house is burgled the police should focus on properties that had not been burgled or if somebody is murdered we should remember the 99.9% of the population that are still alive."

He summarised the Chief Con's statements as "this is society's problem, don't expect the police to do very much about it".

Nearly 250 people were charged with criminal activity in Greater Manchester following the riots, with 208 successfully prosecuted, while 32 were acquitted or faced no further action.

Greater Manchester Police declined to comment.