Brian Paddick's experience at the Metropolitan police 'sets him completely apart' from his rivals, says deputy prime minister
Brian Paddick's experience at the Metropolitan police "sets him completely apart" from his rival candidates in the London mayoral race, Nick Clegg has declared.
The Liberal Democrat leader said the former Scotland Yard deputy assistant commissioner knows what it means to police the capital.
The deputy prime minister made the comments as he and Paddick visited the House of Reeves furniture store in Croydon, whose main premises were destroyed during the riots almost six months ago.
Paddick is competing as the Lib Dem candidate against the current Tory mayor, Boris Johnson, and Labour's Ken Livingstone.
Clegg said: "There's a very strong emphasis in Brian's campaign drawing on his 30 years' experience as someone who actually knows what it's like to police London, which of course his two rivals don't possess.
"They are classic, sort of professional politicians to their core. Brian actually knows what it means to police the streets of London.
"I think that's unique, I think that sets him completely apart. I think it answers precisely the kind of questions that people have got these days about how we can keep London's streets safe."
Paddick said if he had been mayor during the riots he would have stood alongside the Met commissioner to tell people they were destroying communities.
"Because the mayor was absent for days during the riots and even after the riots, that really sent the wrong message to Londoners about standing united," he said.
"We have got to get the police and Londoners standing together against the criminals and if we can do that we can really transform London in terms of crime and disorder."