As Theresa May prepares to vacate Downing Street, Britain has never appeared so broken, fragmented and rudderless.

In London, long held up as one of the world's major capital cities – a beacon of multiculturalism, dynamism, enterprise and opportunity – death stalks the streets and alleys of its vast sprawling housing estates. Gang warfare has grown to the point where the lives of its combatants, in the main teenage boys and youths, have been reduced to the deadly scenario of kill or be killed. Meanwhile, the conclusion that the Metropolitan Police has lost control of the streets is now impossible to avoid. According to the Met's own statistics, we learn that between January and June this year there have been

125,190 thefts

108,084 assaults and violent attacks

9,998 sexual offenses

24,918 public order offenses

21,906 drug offenses

40,409 burglaries