Minister for police’s purse stolen – at policing conference

The minister for policing and crime prevention has had her purse stolen at a conference for senior police officers.

Diana Johnson was in Warwickshire on Tuesday to give a speech to the Police Superintendents’ Association, in which she said towns and cities were being “gripped by an epidemic of antisocial behaviour, theft and shoplifting”.

Warwickshire police said they were investigating the theft of a purse at the hotel outside Kenilworth where the conference took place. A man has been arrested on suspicion of burglary.

A Home Office source confirmed that Johnson had had her purse stolen, after the news was first reported by the Financial Times.

At the conference, Johnson said the government wanted to “restore respect for the rule of law on British streets, including restoring respect for the police, which has sadly been eroded over many years”.

She said: “Too many town centres and high streets across the country have been gripped by an epidemic of antisocial behaviour, theft and shoplifting, which is corroding our communities and cannot be allowed to continue.

“There are thousands of incredible police officers and support staff doing an admirable job. But we do have to face the reality that there are still too many victims of antisocial behaviour who feel that when they call the police, no one listens, no one comes and nothing is done.”

After the conference, Johnson wrote in a post on X that it had been a pleasure to address police superintendents but did not mention her stolen purse. She wrote: “We have a mission to tackle serious crime, antisocial behaviour and restore neighbourhood policing. What I’ve seen in my short time in this role has given me renewed confidence that we’ll succeed.”

Labour has vowed to crack down on crime, including by recruiting 3,000 new police officers and 4,000 police community support officers.

However, the government has faced criticism for releasing more than 1,700 prisoners in England and Wales early. The early release scheme was introduced to deal with overcrowding in prisons which, according to the Ministry of Justice, has brought jails to the “point of collapse”.

In a statement, Warwickshire police said: “We’re investigating a report of the theft of a purse at a hotel on the B4115 in Kenilworth. The theft occurred some time between 11.00 and 13.15 on Tuesday. Inquiries are ongoing. A 56-year-old man from Coventry has been arrested on suspicion of burglary and has since been released on bail while inquiries continue.”

The Police Superintendents’ Association declined to comment on a live investigation.