Lib Dem Party Leader Charles Kennedy has appointed newly-elected Lynne Featherstone as a spokesperson on Home Affairs in Parliament. Lynne joins the team of Mark Oaten, and will have specific responsibility for police, crime and disorder for the party nationally. The appointment is a challenging one with so many home affairs bills moving through Parliament in the current session.

Her new role reflects Ms Featherstone’s long-standing work and campaigns on policing issues, and her experience over several years on the Metropolitan Police Authority, from which she has recently stepped down. Lynne’s experience in local and London-wide campaigns will also stand her in good stead. She has fought for several years to have the police station front counter in Muswell Hill reopened to the public, and has also campaigned London-wide on police response times and unreported crime.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I am looking forward to getting to work in this new role. I hope to bring local and London-wide experience of crime and policing issues to a national setting, as it is something I care passionately about.

“Gun and knife crime are particular priorities, and we also need innovative policies to tackle anti-social behaviour – not measures that simply move the problem from one area to another. Parents, teachers, local councils and the police need to work more closely together to tackle these problems.

“We need to move people, particularly young people, away from criminality.The police do a fantastic job, and I am looking forward to working with them in this new role.”