After The Night of Looting!

There is times of course where some good news comes out of bad. I think for me the good news, is the fact that after a night of crime in Wolverhampton. The citizens and young people turned up this morning in their droves to help clean up Wolverhampton.

As they gathered they were treated to some speeches most notably by a vicar, and the two local MP’s Emma Reynolds and Pat McFadden . Indeed they all took part in a prayer for the City!

But the fact is that the City Councils own workers had very much beaten them to it!

The town had all the glass and rubbish cleared away and the Chief Executive of the City Council had been out with workers very early indeed.

I Chair Wolverhampton Business Champions and I am sure that our members who represent the biggest employers and sectors in Wolverhampton,will be most pleased with the reaction of the City this morning.

Yes ...we are all embarrassed that a minority of young people have been drawn into crime and severe criminal acts against goods and property. I am confident that the Police will track down and prosecute those offenders. I have real sympathy for the shop owners and their staff who have returned to find their shops looted.

But Wolverhampton as a City has also had its image tarnished at a time when it is facing up to severe economic down turn. This outbreak of crime splashed on the pages of national and international news will do none of us any good. That is why I was so pleased to see our citizens turning up in such numbers to show solidarity with the businesses and the public services like the bus drivers, police officers, fire brigade and Health Services that stood by all night doing their duty in difficult circumstances.

Wolverhampton Businesses through the Champions organisation want to thank you for your sterling effort. We also urge the police and the judiciary to do all in their power to arrest and then use proper sentances to ensure that they are punished for their criminal exploits.”