My London constituency in Hackney has one of the highest levels of gun crime in the country. But the problem is no longer confined to inner city areas. Gun crime has spread to communities all over Britain.

Let's talk about the real issues of crime which people are worried about. What people are worried about is the rise in violent crime. We believe that more community policemen and women are part of the answer to this.

My father was a manual worker.

My forebears refused to cut the sugar cane for plantation owners, and I am recognisably a product of that background.

When fast food is not a treat but a dietary staple, the children surf the internet all day in dark corners of the room and are bombarded with latest gadgets. Things replace parental standards.

My family were from Jamaica.

It's very lonely bringing up a child on your own.