Does this look like your street corner, Mr Grayling?

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling has today been snatching at headlines, as he compared parts of Britain to the HBO series The Wire.

Grayling has said in a speech:

“The Wire used to be just a work of fiction for British viewers. But under this government, in many parts of British cities, The Wire has become a part of real life in this country too. Far too many of those features of what we have always seen as a US phenomenon are now to be found on the streets of Britain as well.“

I’m not too familiar with the show – and it doesn’t appear Chris Grayling is either. In an interview today he was less than convincing, saying:

“I’ve seen a number of … I’ve seen most of the first series. I have seen a number of the other episodes yes. I have.”

But I’ve just had a look at what I’ve been missing, and it seems that – as Michael White, Hopi Sen and Sunny Hundal all point out – Mr Grayling’s views of Britain bear zero relation to reality.

Does this really look or sound like your street corner?