KEIR Starmer met up to talk to the police about crime - when officers had to rush off to chase thieves who had reportedly stolen from Wilko.

It came as the Labour leader met with Chief Inspector Sarah Leadbeatter outside the force's station in Chatsworth Road, Worthing, yesterday morning.

The pair were discussing crime in the area when a distressed member of the public shouted "there's been a theft".

Sir Keir, who previously served as Director of Public Prosecutions, turned around as two Sussex Police officers sprang into action.

The Argus:

The man explained how people in black hoodies were running down the road after stealing from Wilko.

Sussex Police have been contacted for comment.

 

The Argus:

The visit comes amid the Labour Party conference which is taking place until Wednesday.

Thousands of party faithful have descended on the city for the annual conference – the first with Sir Keir Starmer at the helm.

The leader has been out and about in and around Brighton, also visiting Ricardo in Shoreham on Saturday and George Street in Hove on Sunday.

Yesterday's tour of Worthing came as Labour pledged to “bring back neighbourhood policing” with a plan to boost the “eyes, ears and boots on the ground” and a major recruitment drive for volunteer officers.

The Argus:

Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, who was also on the tour, set out a vision for a national rollout of “police hubs” with their own neighbourhood crime prevention teams to crack down on anti-social behaviour.

Elsewhere at the conference yesterday, Labour’s shadow chancellor has taken aim at Jeff Bezos and Amazon for paying less in tax than high street businesses.

“If you can afford to fly to space, you can pay your taxes here on Earth,” Rachel Reeves told the Labour party conference at the Brighton Centre.

The Argus:

Ms Reeves made the remarks as she called on the Government to increase the digital services tax to 12% for the next year, to make sure online companies like Amazon are paying their fair share.

The shadow chancellor also said the digital services tax rise would help the Government freeze business rates – a move that would give small and medium-sized businesses a discount next year.

An extra £28 billion annually was also promised to help Britain tackle the climate change crisis under a Labour government, the shadow chancellor pledged.

Rachel Reeves said she wanted to become Britain’s “first green chancellor” as she outlined proposals for a massive investment in shifting the country to greener technology.

The Argus:

Meanwhile, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner continued to stoke the row after she called senior Tories “scum” – despite colleagues including Sir Keir Starmer distancing themselves from her remarks.

Ms Rayner challenged Boris Johnson on Monday to sit down with her and apologise for his own “racist, homophobic and sexist” comments before she says sorry for her verbal attack on Conservatives.

She tweeted that people “seem to be far more concerned with my choice of language” than the Prime Minister’s own “racist, homophobic and sexist” comments.

“I’m very happy to sit down with Boris. If he withdraws his comments and apologises, I’ll be very happy to apologise to him,” the Ashton-under-Lyne MP added.