London: Conservative Susan Hall to appoint a women's commissioner if elected

Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall has promised to appoint a women's commissioner if she is elected in May.

She says it would ensure more is done to ensure women's safety, three years after the murder of Sarah Everard.

Ms Hall wants a more robust response to sexual harassment on the Tube and more specialist officers in boroughs.

Labour said Sadiq Khan was already pursuing a "ground-breaking" strategy to protect women with more investment and specialist officers.

The mayor appointed London's first independent victims' commissioner but Ms Hall says the role does not have enough status, influence and resources.

She would want the commissioner working with Transport for London (TfL), as well as the Mayor's office for policing and crime.

She has also promised to put more money, including funds unspent in the budget of London's Violence Reduction Unit, into women's refuges and places of safety.

Recent figures show there was a 6% rise in sexual assaults on the Tube, but figures are not kept for harassment.

Ms Hall's plans to tackle that have been endorsed by Instagram influencer Georgie Clark who told the BBC about being sexually harassed on the London Underground three years ago.

Ms Clarke claims that when she described her ordeal to station staff, she was handed a leaflet and told to report it to the British Transport Police.

Ms Hall is unhappy that most reporting happens the day afterwards by phone or online, and believes transport staff need to be better trained to take a full report of incidents at the time.

Ms Hall said: "Women deserve to feel safe in London, but Sadiq Khan just isn't listening to women like Georgie. I am listening, which is why as mayor I will get a grip of crime and make our city safer for women.

"My plan will put more police officers on patrol, provide better support for those escaping domestic violence, put specialist VAWG officers in every borough, and improve safety on the London Underground."

Ms Clarke said she had been "inspired" by the Tory candidate's focus on women's safety, but her support did not stem from "any political allegiance" to Ms Hall.

"My experiences on public transport, feeling unsafe and on guard, have driven me to advocate passionately for improvements in women's safety," added Ms Clarke.

With Baroness Casey's review highlighting misogyny in the Metropolitan Police, the service has prioritised tackling violence against women.

Recently, Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said it was beginning to show positive results, with rape and serious assaults down in the last year. Focusing on stalking and harassment had helped lead to the lowest number of homicides in recent years, he said.

Labour say the Metropolitan Police now has 550 more specialist officers and staff working to support victims of sexual violence, part of a Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy "putting safety at the heart of everything we do" across all services.

But Ms Hall says she will beef up borough-based policing, assigning more officers to specialise in dealing with violence against women, with a " lead contact" in every borough. Thefts and robberies led to a spike in reported crime on London's transport network last year, according to the latest figures, but TfL said it was also because women were more willing to come forward with complaints about crime.

Ms Hall says most reporting happens the day afterwards by phone or online, and believes transport staff need to be better trained to take a full report of incidents at the time.

A Labour spokesman said: "This election is a close two-horse race between Sadiq and an extreme Tory candidate, who has herself said she is not a feminist and who only last week suggested police misconduct against women should be dealt with behind closed doors.

"The Tory government has imposed £1bn cuts on the Met with a devastating impact on the services that keep women safe."

"By contrast, Sadiq has invested a record £163m on tacking violence against women and girls in London."

Green mayoral candidate Zoe Garbett said: "As a woman living in London this is a welcome start.

"If we want to make women in our city safer, we need to deal with the significant levels of mistrust that many women have for the police. All women must be confident when reporting crime.

"It's also essential that we tackle the rampant hatred of women in our society so we can prevent harm."

Lib Dem mayoral candidate Rob Blackie said: "The Conservative record on women's safety is absolutely appalling and Susan Hall has said that sexist police should be dealt with behind closed doors, which is guaranteed to make fixing the Met harder."

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