TV chef James Martin brought his ‘guard dog’ to protect him while visiting ‘broken London‘ after his car was raided by thugs.
The famed cook, 53, had vowed to ‘bring the Malis’ next time he ventured to the capital from his home in Hampshire – referring to his two pet Belgian Malinois.
The breed of dogs have fearsome reputations and are used by the military and police to take down criminals and terrorists.
Cook’s decision comes weeks after he was rocked by a ‘broad daylight’ attack on his motor, which saw yobs smashing his rear windscreen in central London.
Staying true to his word, ITV chef Martin shared a picture of one of his pet hounds wearing a black ‘working dog’ harness while sitting on the pavement.
The James Martins’ Saturday Morning host simply captioned the picture ‘London’ as he shared it with his 761,000 followers on Instagram.
Speaking in 2022, Martin previously praised his two dogs, writing in a post: ‘I have to say I have had dogs all my life but these two are unbelievably clever. Thanks to the trainer for doing all the work.’
At the end of May, Martin revealed to his fans how he and some of his friends had been targeted by crooks while in the capital.
TV chef James Martin brought his ‘guard dog’ with him to protect him while in ‘broken London ‘ after his car was raided by thugs
Who let the dogs out? Martin shares a picture accompanied by his Belgian Malinois ‘guard dog’
The move came after he vowed to bring protection the next time he visited the capital following the vandalism of his car the last time he was in the city
Sharing a photo of his smashed up motor, he wrote: ‘So in a week two of my friends cars got stolen, one other mate got mugged and now I had this happen all in broad daylight all in central London.
‘London is broken big time…next time I’m bringing the Malis.’
The chef did not reveal whether anything had been stolen during the attack on his car.
However, his fans were quick to show their support – as many sought to criticise London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan over the capital’s escalating crime rates.
‘This is so sad, what once was an incredible capital city is now a centre for crime,’ wrote one woman.
‘Sadly our mayor turns a blind eye to it all, pretending it doesn’t happen. Heartbreaking especially when you visit other countries and see clean, safe, friendly places.’
Another person, who claimed to be living in the city, said the it was ‘no longer safe for women’, adding: ‘I’m a cockney, James, and I hate what’s happened to my city.
‘I only go into London if I have to… [you] can’t even get your phone out to answer it for fear of it getting snatched.
ITV star James Martin revealed in May how he and his friends had been targeted by thugs
‘London has become lawless as has most of the UK because the government is too soft on crime.’
A third person simply added: ‘Britain is broken. Not just London. Sorry this has happened to you.’
The news comes as MailOnline revealed over the weekend that London’s knife crime epidemic had reached a record-high for the second year in a row.
In response to the spiralling figures, campaigners slammed mayor Sir Sadiq Khan as ‘not fit for purpose’ and accused him of ‘undermining the Met Police at any opportunity‘.
Home Office data shows more than 16,800 knife crimes were recorded by the Metropolitan and City of London police forces last year, a 16 per cent rise on the previous record of over 14,500 a year earlier.
The highest number of knife crimes occurred in several central London neighbourhoods, focused around the high-end areas of Mayfair, Fitzrovia, Soho, St James and the Strand.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has repeatedly faced questions about the capital’s crime rates
The most up-to-date figures are from 2023 as the Met stopped publishing data which breaks down weapons offences to this granular level of geographic detail early last year. MailOnline has asked if the force intends to start publishing this breakdown again.
The number one area for crime was the neighbourhood – technically a ‘lower layer super output area’ (LSOA) named Westminster 013G – which features Regent Street, New Bond Street and a small section of Oxford Street.
This Westminster suburb saw saw 141 reported knife crimes in 2023, according to Met Police data. A near-600 per cent rise on 2012, where 21 knife-related offences were recorded.
Former Met cop and knife crime campaigner Norman Brennan, who was 25 when he was stabbed in the chest and nearly murdered by a burglar while on duty, told MailOnline: ‘Under Sadiq Khan, London has no-go areas and the streets have become unsafe.’
A spokesman for the Mayor of London told MailOnline: ‘Making London safer is the Mayor’s top priority. The latest ONS statistics show that the rate of violent crime with injury in London is lower than in the rest of the country.
‘Gun crime, burglary and knife crime with injury for under 25s have all fallen since Sadiq become Mayor. The number of homicides recorded in London last year was half the number recorded in 2003, and we had the lowest number of teenage homicides in the capital since 2012.
‘Knife crime overall has also been falling over recent months.
‘But there’s clearly still much more to do to tackle crime. One death is one too many and the Mayor is determined to continue being both tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.
‘The previous government took a wrecking ball to policing budgets and youth clubs in London, which has had serious consequences. In contrast, the Mayor has doubled investment in policing from City Hall and created 500,000 positive opportunities to divert vulnerable young Londoners away from criminal gangs and crime and towards training and employment.’
A Met Police spokesman added: ‘Tackling knife crime is at the heart of our determination to protect Londoners.
‘Through stop-and-search and data-led policing, we are seeing results, with knife crime down this year compared to last. We have also seen an 18 per cent reduction in the number of victims injured by knives and sharp objects, and a 10 per cent reduction in personal robberies, including phone robbery, which makes up the largest proportion of knife crime.
‘We know we need to do more, which is why we will continue to work with our partners and communities to further drive down offending.’
