British Home Secretary afraid to walk streets of London at night

London, Jan 20 : British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has admitted that she would not feel safe walking the streets of London late at night.

The Home Secretary, who has the responsibility for reducing fear of crime among people of Britain, has insisted that streets were safer at night after a decade of Labour rule.

She echoed the fears of millions of ordinary people who think Britain's cities are dangerous after dark.

Well, no," she replied when asked if she would feel safe walking alone after midnight in Hackney in an interview with The Sunday Times.

"But I don't think I ever have done. I would never have done that at any point in my life," she added.

Asked why not, Smith said: "Well, I just don't think that's a thing that people do, is it, really?"

Questioned on whether she would feel more comfortable on the streets of Kensington and Chelsea, she said: "I wouldn't walk around at midnight and I'm fortunate that I don't have to do that."

The admission provoked a furious reaction from opposition politicians, who claimed it exposed Labour's failings on crime, despite the Government's claim that Britain is safer compared to the 1990s when the Conservatives were in power, The Independent reported.

ANI