Letter from Uma Kumaran MP on Phone Thefts
Our MP Uma Kumaran took E20's phone theft problem all the way to the House of Commons — and specifically named Stratford's e-bike snatching issue in an official parliamentary debate.
I recently contacted our MP about the scale of the problem in E20. She recently replied to me via letter - here’s what she had to say:
Dear Andrew, I hope this finds you well. In May, you wrote to me about phone theft, and particluarly about thieves using e-bikes to snatch phones. I wanted to write to you because last week I had the opportunity to speak at a debate in the House of Commons about phone theft, highlighting the impact that it has on individuals and communities. I shared your concerns as part of my speech. including highlighting the concern around e-bikes as an enabler of phone theft in Stratford, which has become a hotspot. You can read it in Hansard, the official record of parliamentary debates dating back over two centuries: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-07-03/debates/1FF97709-7BF1-4C54-B8EA-2FE454156D4E/PhoneTheft#contribution-B2D9C30F-8BEA-4D8B-BDD1-14E043E63DCD A video of the debate is also available online: https://youtu.be/PVLNHssulMY?si=bUnjQ76J4NISKTf3 I’ve been raising this consistently with the Deputy Mayor of London for Policing and Crime, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Newham’s Borough Commander, the team at Westfield, and with the local authority. I’ll keep pushing in Parliament to make sure that everyone - from enforcement to phone manufacturers - takes this seriously and works to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. Thank you again for taking the time to write to me about this important issue. If there are any other issues I can assist with or that you’d like to raise with me as your voice in Westminster, please don’t hesitate to be in touch. With warm wishes, Uma Kumaran MP Member of Parliament for Stratford and Bow
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