Labour should focus on policy instead of ‘tough on crime’ messaging, charity says

Head of Howard League urges party to abandon cheap politics' and develop evidence-based position

The Labour party is indulging in cheap politics" by accusing the Conservatives repeatedly of being soft on crime, the head of a leading prison reform charity has claimed.

Andrea Coomber QC, the chief executive of the Howard League, said the opposition is trying to outflank Boris Johnson's government on law and order instead of developing evidence-based policies to solve a crisis within the criminal justice system.