Labour’s election manifesto features an endorsement from former Detective Chief Superintendent Gavin Thomas, an approval Labour hoped would bolster their promise to crack down on crime. Though Thomas hasn’t been one to encourage the full force of the law on some serious offenders…

Back in 2016, Thomas called for a review of the sex offenders register and a debate about diverting some paedophiles into treatment rather than imprisoning them. Speaking of his concerns about there not being enough room to jail all paedophiles, he said: “Should we be going down the criminal justice route or, based on a proper assessment, should we be going down the health route?”  Thomas also argued that young hackers should face “virtual prisons” rather than jail-time, proposing the use of wi-fi jammers and educational programmes rather than the “19th century punishments to deal with 21st century crimes.” Not exactly a model of ‘tough on crime’…