Sunak spoke candidly about his eldest daughter Krishna’s desire for more independence, but said she was disturbed by a series of crimes, including the murder of Olivia Pratt-Corbel, the nine-year-old who was shot dead in Liverpool. He said he was determined to crack down on crime, including preparing to put far more criminals behind bars and increase the number of prisons. “My eldest is at the age where she wants to walk places on her own and that’s why we weren’t in that Downing Street flat last term when I was chancellor,” Sunak said in a chat with reporters this week. Krishna had hoped to start walking to school for her last term of primary school, a freedom that was ultimately deemed impossible. Sunak said he had been disturbed by a series of crimes over the summer. “It brings home to you as a parent and again in the summer the awful things that we read about with the young lady Olivia, which we will all remember,” he said. “I want to make sure my kids and everyone else can walk safely. That’s what any parent wants for their kids… in the past I’ve gotten it [safety] given – and many of us as men. The events of the past year have shown us that so many women and girls have not felt as safe as they should. “So addressing that and making it safer for people is something that’s personally very important to me.” Sunak said it was an ambition over his premiership to reduce crime. “I see it as part of the level up,” he said. “It’s often people who are in parts of the country who may feel they’ve been treated in the past or come from more disadvantaged backgrounds that are more affected by crime. “I want to deliver for these people. Putting more police officers on the street to reduce crime in the neighborhood is incredibly important to me.” However, the prime minister said he was relaxed about the prospect of more people going to jail, which he said was “a logical consequence of catching more criminals … if you put more police on the street and deal with more crime, you’re going to end up with more people in prison”. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Sunak also spoke about his family’s adjustment to life in Downing Street, including moving back to the smaller flat the family lived in when he was Chancellor and barely seeing his family in the past fortnight since becoming Prime Minister . “In a sense it’s quite familiar to the family, so that part was easier than it would have been otherwise,” he said. “But it happened completely out of the blue so it was a bit of an adjustment for everyone and I’ve been working pretty much night and day for the last couple of weeks because there’s a lot to overcome… so I haven’t really had time to stop and think.” Sunak said the moment that dawned on him was at the Memorial Day service last Sunday. “Having the opportunity to do that as prime minister … that’s something I’ll never forget. So, among all the other work that I have to do, this was a moment where I took a few seconds to actually take on the responsibility that I have in this new job – and that was a very special moment that I will not forget.”
