People claim London crime is rising because it suits them, Met commander says

The Met believes it has ‘significantly disrupted’ London’s stolen phone market in an operation known as ‘Echosteep’. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Claims that London is becoming more dangerous despite the crime figures indicating otherwise are being made because it suits some people, a senior police commander has said.

The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, and right-wing commentators have increasingly sought to portray the capital as a “lawless” city from which high net-worth individuals are fleeing.