Nadhim Zahawi has claimed that London is “not safe” because he saw a man who “looked like he hadn’t slept.”
How ‘safe’ London is has become one of the favourite topics of the right, who like to claim that the capital is a crime-ridden no-go zone where people dare not go outside.
Of course, this is lightyears from the truth. Officials stats show crime levels in London are falling whilst polling has found that the group who believe London is the safest are those who actually live there.
This doesn’t seem to stop the usual suspects complaining about London – but it seems some of them are scraping the barrel when looking for proof to back up their argument.
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During an appearance on LBC this week, Reform’s Nadhim Zahawi told Nick Ferrari he did not feel safe in London.
However, when Zahawi gave an example of a time he had felt unsafe, it wasn’t the horror story he perhaps thought.
The former chancellor recalled how he had been walking home when he was “walked into the middle of the road” because an individual walked past him.
This prompted Ferrari to ask what the individual had been doing to prompt such evasive action from Zahawi.
“Did he appear to be drunk, did he appear to be aggressive,” the host asked.
The threatening behaviour in question? Looking tired.
Zahawi said: “He just looked like he hadn’t slept for a week and just looked like somebody who might be violent, I don’t know.”
Right…
Zahawi was roundly mocked online for his terrifying tale of walking past a tired man.
One person wrote: “So… London has fallen because there’s some knackered people walking around?”
Another imagined what the story would sound like from the man’s point of view…
And many others theorised that the man could in fact have been a scruffy former colleague of Zahawi’s…