WARRING gangs in Waltham Forest called a truce during the recent riots to share information, according to Chingford MP Iain Duncan Smith.
In an interview with the Spectator magazine, the Pensions Secretary also said the country was in the ‘last chance saloon’ to address the social problems which led to disturbances across London and other major cities.
He warned gangs will try to cause further unrest unless drastic action is taken.
The worst unrest in the borough last week was in Walthamstow and in Mr Duncan Smith’s constituency of Chingford, where two police officers were injured after being mowed down by a driver fleeing the scene of looting in Chingford Mount Road.
Leytonstone, which experienced the worst gang-related violence last summer, was relatively quiet.
He said: "There has been gang war going on in Waltham Forest. Each postcode gang is at war with another. There’s evidence that they had a truce during the riots, and were swapping information with each other."
“I was talking to my borough commander (Chief Supt Steve Wisbey) in Waltham Forest and he said there was very good evidence that they moved around a lot and they were co-ordinating locations and some of the social media network.”
Mr Duncan Smith said an approach adopted in Waltham Forest following last summer’s violence should be urgently rolled out across the country.
Loosely based on a method pioneered in the American city of Boston, the initiative involves police channelling resources into targeting known gang members, then working with the council to offer support to tackle problems such as addiction, housing and education with them and their families.
Waltham Forest Police say the scheme has been a success in south Leytonstone, which has seen a fall in gun and knife crime.
"If you’re not in the gang, then you’re against the gang and they will target you and your family. A lot of these kids are desperate for a way out," Mr Duncan Smith said.
In response to last week’s riots, a gangs committee has been set up discuss future policy, which Mr Duncan Smith will jointly chair with Home Secretary Theresa May.
"The Prime Minister made it clear that this, now, is his big focus. It is not possible to have watched or experienced any of these riots without realising that we're in the last-chance saloon," Mr Duncan Smith said.
"This is our warning. That wasn't the crisis, but the crisis is coming.”
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