russian spy in salisbury. mrjohnson‘s described the labour leader as "the kremlin‘s useful idiot" for refusing to say unequivocally that russia was responsible. labour said mrjohnson had "made a fool of himself" by misrepresenting what he was told by chemical weapons experts. ministers have rejected claims that the rise in violence in london can be linked to police cuts. labour have accused them of having their heads in the sand. it comes as the government prepares to outline a new strategy to tackle serious violence. susana mendonca reports. a high visibility police presence on london's streets after a week that has seen a spate of violent deaths. but the home secretary has rejected claims that falling police numbers are to blame. and she is being backed up by cabinet colleagues. go back a decade. serious violent crime was a lot higher than it is today, but so were police numbers, so for anyone to suggest that this is caused by police numbers, it is not