Single mums attack ex-Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw after he ‘blames them’ for gang violence

SINGLE mums have attacked ex-Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw and accused him of "blaming them" for the current knife crime epidemic.

Parents hit out after Sir Michael appeared on Good Morning Britain and pointed the finger at absent dads for the explosion in violent crime.

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But angry single mums across the country accused him of blaming them for not controlling their children, describing it as an "insult".

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Sir Michael argued young people were turning to violence as they had no father-figures to guide them, saying: "When I was teaching 50 years ago, when we had a problem with a youngster, mum and dad used to turn up.

"Even though they may be separated, even though they may be going through all sorts of family problems, mum and dad always turned up. You don’t see that now - this is about dads not caring.

"Dads are neglecting their children and providing terrible role models to their young men who then go astray."

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But the top educator who was executive principal of Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney in London, was criticised by parents who accused him of appearing to lay the blame on single mums for not raising their kids properly.

Many people took to social media to complain about Sir Michael's comments, with one person writing: "So single mothers are raising killers? Tbh I’m a little bit insulted by that."

Another posted quickly, writing: "In a word no! It’s like saying these single mothers have done a bad job bring up their children alone."

Another added: "Blaming single parent mothers. Classic 80s move that. The system works against single parent mothers, always has and always will."

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A fourth said: "@GMB - I am disgusted at the "absent fathers" discussion!! I am a single mother of 2 boys, who would never entertain violence in any form!! #pigeonholing #anyexcuse #notallthesame"

Another added: "I'm a single dad and my kids are great .I think single dad's work hard to make sure their kids are ok.

"Sometime i think its just an excuse to say it absent dads that have caused kids to go off the rails. it takes hard work to make sure kids are safe."

But another viewer appeared to agree with Sir Michael, saying: "I think the kids today have no respect for authority.

"That expect to be respected by all but won’t earn it. I take on apprentice and it requires both parents to get the kids through.

"If the parents are not bothered then neither are the kids. Dad is so important".

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Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Leroy Logan, a former senior police officer, agreed that the issue stemmed from the lack of fathers as role models to "some extent", but added that safe guarding agencies needed more support.

Speaking to hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, he said: "We are looking at why violence happens now, and parenting is very important.

"But what we need to do is make sure young people are at the centre of what we do, so we know why they pick up a knife.

"In a lot of ways, it's peer pressure and fear."

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Last night, police launched a murder investigation after a man was killed after a shooting in North West London.

The man was found injured outside the Queensbury Tube station just before 9pm, tragically dying at the scene.

Another man in his 20s was taken to a North London hospital with gunshot wounds.

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It comes after London's murder rate overtook New York's for the first time, with the Met Police launching 62 murder investigations in 2018 as bloodshed gripped the capital.

Fifteen people were murdered in London in February, compared to 11 in the Big Apple.

The number of London murders for March also beat New York's with 23 and 21 respectively - 13 of those in the UK capital coming in just 19 days.