Labour’s resident hardman Jim Fitzpatrick has a history of hawkish views. Backing the war in Iraq and rebelling against the party over Syria, the Blairite ex-minister isn’t afraid of a splash of violence to solve problems. Even those within his own constituency, it seems…

When a concerned constituent emailed Fitzpatrick about some anti-social yobs on their street, Fitzpatrick wasted no time in presenting a hard line solution:

“I can only report these matters as you do and hope the authorities respond. If that is your definition of not “caring” then fine. What would you like me to do, come down with my baseball bat? (I don’t have one by the way).”

Somebody get Jim a baseball bat…