Labour's Deputy Leader Harriet Harman has been pictured wearing a stab proof vest whilst on patrol with police in her Peckham constituency.

Instant cries of 'the streets are unsafe under Labour', especially after Home Secretary Jacqui Smith admitted she didn't go out alone at night.

However, Ms Harman has the perfect rebuttal to those who think she's gaffed:

'Just as I might wear a hard hat on a building site or an Indian outfit going to meet Indian constituents, it's just about wearing the kit.'

She later said on the radio:

'It's like when you visit a meat factory, they give you a white hair net but they don't expect you to make a meat pie.'

So let's be clear, no gaffe, no spin, just good old fashioned pavement politics. Any other suggestions are wide of the mark!

Comments

[Bruce Hulmes 3 Apr 2008 10:39:46]

Carol Ann.
No response to Victors, figures.

[keith in croydon 3 Apr 2008 09:36:43]

i drove threw peckham 2 weeks ogo a stab vest wont do you much good hellhole

[seb/uk 3 Apr 2008 08:43:15]

Mr Policeman

Would these 17/35 white males be motorists by any chance?.

[meltonmark 3 Apr 2008 07:04:26]

When I was young, here was no such thing as a stab vest. Policemen and citizens lived in [relative] peace and quiet. Now we are persecuted, plundered and divided as a nation. Most of this has come about through mass immigration and the witless policy of 'multiculturalism'. This government has sold us to the illegal regime in Brussels. Labour should not merely be voted out, they should be tried for crimes against the people.

[Craig 2 Apr 2008 17:32:47]

Daily

Well said. You obviously have finger on the pulse. Before you slag off people you should check your facts. It was her office that sent out the pictures to the press.

Nobody doubts that Harriets Office sent out the picture and WHY NOT!!. What you don't seem to understand is that the 'Daily Mule' shouldn't just make a characature of a very sensible story. Surely you can appreciate how that undermines journalism. Tell me how, by doing so, the 'Mule' is serving the public interest. They are clearly out to serve only theinterests of the Tories and show contempt for the public by doing so.

[Ron Pieles Southport 2 Apr 2008 17:20:42]

I watched her on PMQ's today.
What a leader ?..Noddy and Big
Ears springs to mind.Oh and Mr Policemean the reason you aarrest a lot of 17/35year old white english males is because those are the only people your chiefs will let you arrest,any possible confrontation with a foreigner and you run away till it's all over.

[Victor, NW Kent 2 Apr 2008 15:29:43]

Carol-Ann
"Just to correct your ignorance of the crime situation in Liverpool":

Actual statistics: Crimes per thosand inhabitants - EXCLUDING crimes against under 16 year olds:

Robbery - Liverpool 3.9 England 1.85
Vehicle Theft: L= 7.06, E= 4.04
Theft from a motor vehicle - L= 16.07, E= 9.56
Sexual Offences - L= 1.30, E= 1.17
Violence against a person - L= 36.96, E= 19.97
Burglary - L= 11.75, E= 5.67

That does not paint a picture a low crime rate. Are you completely sure that you live in Liverpool?

I am not conducting a vendetta against Liverpool but you keep raising the city as a Utopia. I prefer facts.

[Colin, Aberdeen 2 Apr 2008 14:54:41]

Does that mean if she visits a strip club it goes out of business?????.......anyone??

[Alun J, South Wales 2 Apr 2008 14:31:01]

If it'd been anyone other than a policitian wearing a police emblem-bearing stab vest on the streets, the wearer would be under arrest for impersonating a police officer....

[Mark Solomon, Alicante, Spain 2 Apr 2008 14:15:26]

There's always one isn't there - Melton Mark's paranoid insistence on immigration being all to blame for the crime problem in the UK rather than our own homegrown politicians and judges and education system. And while I consider Labour nothing more than a harmful treasonous rabble, it is going a bit far to suggest they have killed a couple of million people! Harriet Harman was just doing what politicians have done since the beginning of time - posing for the cameras in fancy dress - I mean how many put on camouflage jackets when with the forces with no suggestion they are going to start shooting at someone. Storm in a teacup...

[James, UK 2 Apr 2008 12:07:19]

That's a pathetic excuse, in a meat factory you wear a hair net and white coat for hygene reasons; incase you spread germs. A construction site it's for health and safetey reasons; incase something falls on your head. Stab proof vests are worn incase you get stabbed, her analogy is way off. She looks like a journalist in some war torn country. Proves the streets are a disgrace, as long as they are politically correct though.

[Bruce Hulmes 2 Apr 2008 12:07:00]

Carol Ann.
The more you post these stupid comments the more certain I am you are not in possesion of a teaching degree.
Yes Thatcher did wear protective clothing when required, just as every other MP and even the queen has when needed.
None to my knowledge have ever walked around our cities in body armour!!!.
If you wish to be taken seriously I would suggest you contribute something worthwhile.

[RWH Thames valley Police 2 Apr 2008 11:58:38]

As a police officer with the choice of wearing my protective vest. I NEVER leave the station without it. Whoever suggested she wear it was looking out for her safety. The entire country is full of criminals who idolise american culture, it is no longer "cool" to respect people or be pleasant to one another. NO single govrnmnt is solely responsible for this. It is the new generation it has nothing to do with immigration either. The majority of people i lock up are english males aged 17-35 !

[carol-ann liverpool 2 Apr 2008 11:52:02]

jABBA

I seem to remember Maggie wearing various protective outfits when she was PM.
She also had a go at, supposedly' driving a tank as I remember.

I don't think for one minute that Harriet felt afraid of being stabbed - perhaps someone should check with the police and find out WHO actually asked her to wear said vest.
As the police had, on this occasion, a duty of care to Harriet, I suggest that they might have been the ones who asked her to wear the vest.
However, even if they didn't ask her, she was supposed to be on a normal patrol with the police so wearing a vest would have been part of that NORMAL PATROL.

Grasping at straws comes to mind in relation to the media nd Cammers and Co.

[Bruce Hulmes 2 Apr 2008 11:34:03]

Madnurse.
What does she wear when she meets a muslim?.

[Bruce Hulmes 2 Apr 2008 11:28:55]

Harriet Harman.
This woman like so many only got where she is on family connections not on brain power. And it appears some of you are as lacking intelligence also.
The police wear protective clothing such as the vest, due to the fact that they can be called to various incidents where weapons could be avilable to the crimainl or even used.
We can be assured can we not, that under no circumstance was this woman going to run off to confront an armed bank robber or to deal with a domestic incident.
No she doned this garment thinking it would make her look as though she was in there mucking in and doing a fine job.
We can also take it that in the future all politicains will be wearing the same garment when on foot patrol,or they could be in breach of the 1974 Health & Safety Regulations. And was this idiot woman also given an induction by the police in the possible dangers, appropiate training and the address of the nearest casualty department and did she sign the induction register?.If those who wish to defend this person want to get technical we all can.

[Elizabeth Davies Cape Town 2 Apr 2008 11:14:53]

Madnurse
If they cared about the police they would give them the rise in their pay that they deserve, this government are hypocrites!

[Madnurse 2 Apr 2008 10:49:13]

I too am amazed that Ms Harman wears an Indian outfit to meet her constituents. Surely in Labour's "multicultural Utopia" these are not now Indians but British.
Perhaps she calls herself Harriet harmandrah while she is in their company. Did Mr Prescot get the cowboy suit to meet cowboys? Oh yes of course he did, Mr Blair's cabinet.

[Madnurse 2 Apr 2008 10:40:47]

I was amused when I saw this picture. It reminds me of when I worked in the NHS. A big wig would be visiting the hospital and the managers from the office would appear. Most of these people we would not have seen in the previous twelve months on the ward. The manager would put on a white coat and pretend to be doing something important or very very technical while the press photographers would photograph the big wig with the ever so clever poser from the ivory tower.
I feel this photograph of HH is a similar situation to the one I describe. HH has clearly put on the police vest, to appear closer to those that her government clearly don't give two hoots about. ie the police.
The government also brag about the number of new police and plastic police officers they now have. I wonder if the figures are fiddled in a similar way to the way they fiddle the nurses figure. They employ two part time nurses instead of one full time nurse; net result; a two fold increase in the number of nurses. So the PM or one of his ministers can stand up and say, we have doubled the number of nurses.

[alan mcpartland 2 Apr 2008 10:26:57]

I'm amazed that Harriet would wear an "Indian outfit" when she meets Indian constituents. Is her normal dress so totally unsuitable to meet people originally from the sub continent? I presume her normal dress is reasonably modest, so why the need for what is for her, "fancy dress". Get a grip Ms Harman. You do not show respect for people by dressing like them, if that is not your normal mode of dress. I am sure your Indian constituents would prefer you simply to represent them effectively, rather than engage in this stupid tokenism, so typical of New Labour incidentally.

[Daily 2 Apr 2008 09:40:16]

Craig,
Well said. You obviously have finger on the pulse. Before you slag off people you should check your facts. It was her office that sent out the pictures to the press. Like most of these sad overstayed labour politicians she was looking for a cheap photo opportunity which I am glad to say has massively backfired on her. According to Livingstone he is constantly telling everyone that crime is down because of him, but as he is as arrogant and as self obsessed as Mugabe with as much interest in what other people think and want, it is hardly surprising that he too does not know what is going on in his own city. One of them is wrong. Either crime is rampant or it is drastically reducing. As much as I hate to be seen to agree with that woman, I think that Harman is probably the one that has got it right.
Let’s hope that when it comes to the next General Election her constituents remember how close she is to them and how much she seems to enjoy going to see them.

[Elizabeth Davies Cape Town 2 Apr 2008 09:33:02]

JABBA
Well said, Mrs Thatcher was a woman of substance, difficult to say that about this government.

[Elizabeth Davies Cape Town 2 Apr 2008 09:30:53]

Craig
I don't see any nonsense, there is Harriet Harmon in Peckham wearing a stab vest. Sensible move with the mood of the country against Labour and Gordon Brown. She is simply taking no chances.

[Robin 2 Apr 2008 08:49:49]

I Hope to visit London Soon.
Where do I go to collect a Stab Vest before the trip.

[Mike Dubai 2 Apr 2008 08:33:52]

I wear a Hard hat on site to protect my head from hazards above - Harriet Harman wore a stab vests to protect her from stabbing injuries. PPE is and must be worn where there is a risk of injury, obviously HH and the police do consider the streets a risk! no spin - just a fact. To compare an Indian Outfit worn at a function to a stab vest is an insult to us all.

[JABBA 2 Apr 2008 08:20:03]

MAGGIE THATCHER WOULD NEVER OF WORN ONE.
HOW SOFT ARE LABOUR?

[Melton Mark 2 Apr 2008 06:07:52]

Now you see what mass immigration has done to our land! Back in the day, such a thing would have been unthinkable. Now it is standard police dress. But immigration is good for you. The Labour Party, present and past, has done more harm to England than two world wars.

[Mentor - Northumberland 2 Apr 2008 01:20:00]

There was a time when the very idea of a Policeman or Politician being forced to wear a protective vest while walking the streets in broad daylight in this country would have been as unbelievable as an invasion of little green men from Mars.
How on earth did we allow this to happen?.

Posted by: Patricia 1 Apr 2008 16:37:59

11 years of a Labour GGovernment, that's we got here!

[simonj,gloucestershire 1 Apr 2008 23:46:48]

Well done HH. First Labour politician to demonstrate being in touch with the electorate. She would need a bullet proof vest if it comes emerges the stab jacket is on the expense account.

[Craig 1 Apr 2008 22:53:04]

The public need to fight back against the right wing gutter press in this country. The Daily rag that printed this nonsense when there is so much going on in the world should be ashamed. They should be reporting their daily dose of Tory propaganda to a dwindling audience as right minded people should turn away from them in their droves. Lets see if Tories here can agree that this is truly a nonsense!!

[John (Northumberland) 1 Apr 2008 22:24:29]

"Just as I might wear a hard hat on a building site or an Indian outfit going to meet Indian constituents, it's just about wearing the kit."

With the mess Labour has made of the economy and our country in general, I'd say Harriet was taking a big risk.

"The correct kit" for Labour MP's is a 'Pitbull' Armoured Vehicle.

[Victor, NW Kent 1 Apr 2008 20:09:35]

Harriet Harman showed that she is insensitive - once again - by wearing that vest. If she cannot walk the streets of her own constituency in safety with 3 armed police what hope is there for her electorate.

It hardly matters how she came to wear it, she should have had more sense. Her final gaffe was to publish the pic proudly on her own website - look how I share your burdens, voters of Peckham.

[Searchie London 1 Apr 2008 19:27:42]

I think she's a little bit unprotected. If I went around there I would want to be in a tank.

[Northernhousewife 1 Apr 2008 19:18:19]

But everyone wears a white hat in a food factory because Health and Safety regulations say you have to. Its the law.
What's that got to do with wearing a stab vest in the street?

I don't wear a sahri every time I meet an Indian friend or put on a kilt when I meet a Scotsman. Its both superficial and patronising.
Ohhh... now I get it.

[Bruce Hulmes 1 Apr 2008 18:01:35]

Carol Ann (of the rosey garden club)
Well you do live in an area that most of us can not relate to,what an happy land you do frequent, but like so many of your oservations I think it is more in your imagination then fact.
I see police pass my window only when they appear to be lost about once every ten years. I do see them pass in our high street , they do like discharging C02 I wonder what their carbon foot print is??. They only show up at Tesco's around Greater Manchester after it has been robbed. And our late Chief Constable had no time to fight crime he was to interested in chasing skirt now that is a fact.
On the subject of Judges not giving the correct sentance, then our Home Secretary should try focusing the minds of the Judicery by sacking one or two, how simple an action would resolve the problem.

[carol-ann liverpool 1 Apr 2008 17:05:35]

Fluffy

Just to correct your ignorance of the crime situation in Liverpool:

We have one of the lowest crime rates in the country and have for a number of years; however, I do concede that we are one of the 'hotspots' with regard to gun crime (in some specific small areas where drug dealers have historically had a strong hold) and that is being rigorously addressed as a top priority by our very hands-on Chief Constable: Bernard Hogan Howe.
CC Hogan Howe has recently hit out at judges who do not give stiff enough sentences for gun related crime. In a Times interview he put forward his concerns on the matter and pointed out that despite the Criminal Justice Act 2003 setting down the minimum sentence for gun possession as five years (3 years for under-18s) he felt that some judges were not imposing stiff enough sentences. He said that.....(some judges)..were...'imposing "excellent" sentences, others were not laying down the law.'

In 2005, the average sentence for possession of a firearm was 47 months - and just 40% of offenders were given the five-year minimum.

Mr Hogan-Howe told The Times: "The big issue for me is getting guns out of society."

Personally, I have, fortunately not been a victim of crime within my own city and its environs except when I went to university, with a lot of people from London and the south east and west, where some of my books were stolen and a pair of original rayban sunglasses were lifted from my bag as I queued to buy my lunch.

we have had 'neighbourhood policing' around here for a number of years. We have the names and phone numbers of our local neighbourhood policing team, including the number of the senior officers. I see the police pass my front window on an al ost daily basis and they attend all local events and celebrations and even come into the local supermarket to chat to people there. There are special teams that can be at a scene of potential violence at very short notice and I have seen them in action and they are pretty impressive.
I think our police are some of the best in the country if not the world, and I am confident that our CC is a man who means business and is addressing the issues that most impact on local communities.
However, communities need to help the police to catch criminals and hstorically people who live in certain small areas where crime tends to be higher, have historically treated them like 'the enemy', however, that is changing as more people see that the police need THEIR help to cut crime.

Like most problems, it needs a team effort and the public are an important part of the team.

[Patricia 1 Apr 2008 16:37:59]

There was a time when the very idea of a Policeman or Politician being forced to wear a protective vest while walking the streets in broad daylight in this country would have been as unbelievable as an invasion of little green men from Mars.
How on earth did we allow this to happen?.

[Adrian, Lancashire 1 Apr 2008 15:57:53]

the only pie HH might be interested in is a Porkie Pie. The way these politicians treat the intelligence of the public is unbelieveable.

[Fluffy, London, England 1 Apr 2008 15:39:31]

"Harriet Harman was setting a good example with regards to Health and Safety. There have been cases where officers have been seriously injured or killed when not wearing a stab vest."

Posted by: carol-ann liverpool 1 Apr 2008 13:46:48

Firstly, I apologise if I have misread your previous posts. But, as a teacher in the crime-hole of Liverpool, I assume that such body armour is your natural dress.

Fair enough: you keep yours and your own failings to yoursel[f/ves]. We English do not require such excuses!

[Elizabeth Davies Cape Town 1 Apr 2008 13:48:41]

Er on the side of caution. Stab vests are needed if you are a Labour MP in your own constituency these days, to protect you from the people who voted for you but now wish they hadn't it seems!
Say no more a picture speaks a thousand words.

[carol-ann liverpool 1 Apr 2008 13:46:48]

Harriet Harman was setting a good example with regards to Health and Safety. There have been cases where officers have been seriously injured or killed when not wearing a stab vest.
I suspect that she was TOLD to wear one by the police as they would feel responsible for her safety.

That is not to say that people would want to stab her, but crazy people can do crazy things to get attention
and the Police were responsible for her safety on this visit.
So, address your comments to the Met, not GB or HH.

[Peter, Fife 1 Apr 2008 13:46:16]

Peter,

Really!
Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other gear designed to protect the wearer's body or clothing from injury by electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection, for job-related occupational safety and health purposes.

Nothing sinister, nothing clandestine, patently obviously she is only wearing of the appropriate PPE; the feral pack would be the first to hound her for photographs and video footage if she were to ignore such occupational protocols.

One of the main hazards which will face campaigning politicians in the near future whilst visiting workplace situations will be to dress up in what is often perceived by our egotistical politicians as unflattering PPE; however they will all conform rather than lose votes from their own arrogance.

Walk the walk, Talk the Talk.

[T. England 1 Apr 2008 13:27:19]

How stupid does this women think we are?
The reason you wear a hair net in a factory is to stop hairs from falling into food, you wear a hard hat to protect you from falling debris, these things CAN happen when wondering around.
So! What she is saying by wearing this vest is that she expects to be in a postion where she might get stabbed!
OR WHAT!?

[Effie 1 Apr 2008 13:20:10]

Peter apparently I am banned will explain on Nick's Robinsons blog site.

[Merv. Beszant, Dubai 1 Apr 2008 13:11:18]

I bet she's hoping that it will never be necessary to visit a nudist colony!

[Khalid 1 Apr 2008 13:06:11]

What a load of tosh. Is she now trying to tell me how to dress? I bet when she visits [Sky] she doesnt wear the sky code does she? Come on [Sonique] another pint please!