Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support efforts by the Metropolitan Police and other forces to tackle the increase in thefts of mobile telephones.

The Home Secretary and Policing Minister are determined to take the strongest possible action to reduce the number of phone thefts in London and elsewhere across the country.

This is a crime that causes significant distress to victims and fuels wider criminality. That’s why we are driving greater collaboration between policing leaders, the Metropolitan Police, National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, leading tech companies and others to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.

All stakeholders must play their part in designing out and disincentivising theft, disrupting the resale of stolen phones, exploring technological solutions to make devices harder to re-register or resell, and helping the public protect themselves and their devices.

This Government will deliver real results on crime by reducing opportunities for theft, ensure offenders are caught, and victims see swift and effective action.