Labour MP Chris Webb helps police snare phone thief after he was mugged by balaclava-clad gang and then tracked his mobile using Apple smartwatch
A Labour MP helped police snare a phone thief after he was mugged by a balaclava-clad gang who laughed as they stole his £1,400 iPhone on a central London street last night.
A Labour MP helped police snare a phone thief after he was mugged by a balaclava-clad gang who laughed as they stole his £1,400 iPhone on a central London street last night.
Chris Webb, the MP for Blackpool South, was targeted by the group of five or six men on bikes after he had phoned his wife to check in on his eight-month-old son.
The 38-year-old, who won a landslide victory in the Blackpool South by-election in May, described the shocking moment the men held his arms as they grabbed the phone from his jacket pocket as he walked back to his flat on Monday night.
As the gang escaped, he locked his iPhone using his Apple smartwatch and when the police came, he helped them to track the phone to a location where an individual was caught with a bag of phones and arrested. His own phone was not recovered.
Moments before the attack, he had told his wife Portia that he was going to hang up because he was in an area he didnt know well and felt apprehensive.
Labour MP Chris Webb was last night attacked and mugged as he was returning to his flat in London
I was walking back from Parliament on Monday evening about 10pm and had been on the phone to my wife and checking in on my son, he told the Mail.
I said to my wife: Im going to put my phone away because I dont know this area, before putting it in my pocket.
I then popped into a local shop to pick up a delivery. I had walked four or five steps after I left the shop and went to get my phone out to call her back.
They came up behind – they were deadly silent. They were wearing balaclavas and were on bikes.
The first I knew of it was when they grabbed my arms. Then they snatched the phone from my pocket and cycled off.
I shouted and swore at them and considered giving chase. They were cheering and laughing. I realised I was outnumbered so I left it.
He said he was shocked and frustrated by the ordeal, adding: Im a big lad – a 6ft 2in rugby player so I dont normally worry about this stuff.
Mr Webb, who won his seat at a by-election in May, phoned the police who he said went above and beyond to help him.
Labour candidate Chris Webb waits with his wife Portia Webb and son Cillian Douglas Webb when he won the Blackpool South by-election in May
The attack happened at 10pm near his flat which is just ten minutes walk from Parliament, which sits late on a Monday evening.
He thinks he was targeted because he was suited and booted, rather than because he was an MP. Luckily, he was insured.
He said he was kicking himself that he had left his Apple AirPods at home in Blackpool because he would have used them to speak on his new iPhone 16 Pro Max.
They probably clocked me on the phone and then waited for me to leave the shop before they came back to steal it, he said.
Its just bad luck – Ive come away unscathed and I have no injuries. I am thankful for the swift police response.
But its probably a message to be more vigilant and to use headphones when you can, especially when in new surroundings.
Mr Webb says he used the tracking on his phone via his Apple smart watch to lead police to an area where they caught someone with stolen phones - but his phone was not among them.
His advice to others is to stay vigilant when out at night with your phone, use headphones where possible and do not have your phone out on show.
I think I was just a victim of crime who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was not being as vigilant as I should be with my phone out at 10 oclock at night, he told the PA news agency.
Fellow MPs sent Mr Webb messages of support, including Chris Bryant who said: I hope youre OK. Sending you best wishes.
Other Labour MPs including Kate Osborne, Josh Fenton-Glynn and Jacob Collier echoed Mr Bryants well wishes.
Mr Webb became the MP for Blackpool South after Labours massive by-election victory in May. He received 10,825 votes at the time, with the Tories embarrassingly trailing behind with just 3,218.
He is the son of a postman and a teaching assistant who wanted to follow in their footsteps into the public sector.
Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner meet MP Chris Webb after his victory in Blackpool South
In an interview with Sky News, he revealed that he first joined the picket line aged two when his father was on strike. He has been a Labour Party member for more than 20 years.
Mr Webb, who described himself as Blackpool born and bred, lives in his constituency with his wife Portia and baby Cillian. But he also has a flat in London, where he was returning to when he was attacked.
The MP was also the deputy police and crime commissioner for Lancashire between 2018 and 2021 and a councillor for Manchester City Council from 2015 to 2018.
Following the attack, he tweeted: Luckily I have no injuries and I am ok.
The officers who assisted me went above and beyond, he said. They are a remarkable credit to the force.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: Officers were called at 21:55hrs on Monday, 4 November following reports of a robbery on Lambeth Walk.
The victim was approached by a group of men who stole his phone from his hand.
Enquiries remain ongoing.
