When stars like Tom Cruise ‘quit London’ over crime, we’re in trouble | UK | News

‘Don’t Proceed to Mayfair’ – Monopoly board’s purchase of stars is now a criminal black spot. It’s no surprise that Tom Cruise is reportedly leaving London following a brazen raid on a Rolex store near his £35 million luxury penthouse. But the Hollywood star is only the most high-profile ‘escapee’ from the crime wave sweeping through the wealth-creating heart of our capital.

Many of London’s most expensive neighborhoods have now become ‘no go’ areas for anyone openly carrying a mobile phone, let alone wearing an expensive watch. No doubt cynics will ask “so what?” he will ask. but they are missing the point. Every day I deal with ultra-high net worth people, ‘wealth producers’ who are worth billions of dollars to the UK through their capital investments, the companies they run, the jobs they create, the taxes they pay; these will be of great help to the less wealthy. So when the rich leave, they blow huge holes in the UK economy. If we can achieve this, it will take years to plug them.

Moreover, most crime victims in London are not rich. I was in Mayfair just before Christmas and heard a woman screaming for help. A man had attacked her in broad daylight. The man was over five feet tall, he was just over five feet tall, and he wasn’t a rich target; I later found out he was a hotel employee. While the thief took the phone from his hand and ran away, the surrounding people ignored what happened. I couldn’t, so I ran over, grabbed the attacker, and wrestled him to the ground.

He was taller, bigger and younger than me, but while we were fighting I got so angry I held on and he threw the stolen phone out of his hand. The hotel’s security guard helped hold the man down for 10 to 15 minutes until police arrived. Meanwhile, the robber shouted Islamic phrases and curses and accused me of targeting him because of his race. During the struggle, I took his bag, thinking it might contain stolen items. He did, plus he had what looked like an 18-inch machete; I might have been lucky. Afterwards, I definitely got scolded by my wife.

As the police dealt with the man, he shouted through a ‘checklist’ clearly designed to help him escape the worst consequences of the crime: He was a minor – he didn’t look like one – he wanted to talk to his mother, I attacked him – of course I did – the phone had nothing to do with him and so on.

Surprisingly, the police admitted that this callous criminal could be released that evening due to identity issues. When I complained that street crime was now common in places like Mayfair, they admitted that criminals were ‘boiling’ posh postcodes and aiming to overload police resources.

I had no doubt about it; After tackling the robber, two more men stood close to me and threatened me, but they retreated as a crowd began to gather. And I knew this wasn’t an isolated incident. Just months ago, a man on an electric bike approached my old Embassy Audi A8 while it was parked in South Kensington. He was wearing a balaclava and was hitting the car windows with a knife.

Fortunately, the windows of the car were reinforced enough that they could not be broken that easily. I called the police while he was swearing and threatening to kill me if I didn’t give him my valuables. He sped away when police arrived a few minutes later.

Later comments from friends and colleagues suggest that well-organized gangs targeted genuinely wealthy areas, briefing their ‘teams’ on what to say if arrested, and using strategies designed to outwit the police. Those who can afford it are likely to hire private security when planning to leave the UK, and I know Dubai officials and others are using social media to help them decide.

As one of the world’s greatest cities is being wiped out by rival countries, damaging the UK economy and our sense of national well-being, we need tough action, especially from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who seems impotent at best, apathetic at best.

Khan and authorities urgently need to increase visible policing as a deterrent; requiring the expedited deportation of noncitizens who commit violent crimes; strengthening sentences and ending same-day release; discuss the ‘no face, no case’ loophole that allows criminals to evade justice by hiding their identities from surveillance using balaclavas and hoodies; and may be held more accountable for criminal strategy. I’m afraid things will get worse until I take action.

• Wolfgang Douglas is an asset liquidator, British investor and serial entrepreneur