Britain is 'worst in the world' for armed robbery

Britain is the worst country in the world for robbery and the number of armed and violent attacks is growing, according to the head of the country's biggest security firm.

Nick Buckles, chief executive of Group 4 Securicor, attributed the rising level of attacks to the fact that his staff are not allowed to carry guns, leaving them vulnerable to armed raiders.

He said: "It's just part of our business. It is a rising trend, particularly in the UK, mainly because we are not armed. Britain is the worst country in the world for robbery."

Mr Buckles's comments, made as the company's results were published yesterday, were particularly troubling because G4S also operates in countries which are notorious for violent crime, such as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, the U.S. and Colombia.

Home Office statistics reveal there were 1,033 attacks on couriers in 2006 - up 24 per cent on a year earlier - and G4S has about 50 per cent of the UK cash-in-transit market.

Police in London have warned that a new generation of armed robbers, some as young as 13, are targeting vans in a wave of increasingly brazen attacks.

The concerns of G4S echoes those of other companies. Some are so afraid for staff safety that they have declared certain urban areas of the UK no-go zones.

I find it difficult to believe we are more dangerous for security firms than Columbia and other places like that but then again security staff aren’t allowed to carry guns in this country so it could be true. Either way we can’t trust Labour to do anything about it. They have failed to make any progress when it comes to relatively minor crimes so it’s unlikely that they will be able to do anything at all.

If we are the worst in the world for armed robbery and we have some of the strictest gun control laws in the world doesn’t that say that gun control doesn’t work?