Back to the Commons after an overnight stay with my granddaughter. It was an odd day, with three Urgent Questions and two Government Statements. I attended the first UQ on knife crime, which is a very serious problem and has seen two more young and innocent victims. My heart goes out to their family and friends. What is going on? It's sometimes dangerous to generalize on these issues, but I do feel that a rising gang culture is partly to blame. Gangs are often associated with areas of deprivation, although not necessarily so. Gangs can be influential, especially on the vulnerable, who can be easily taken in by the alleged camaraderie these gangs afford. I remain concerned at the lack of police officers on our streets and have said so repeatedly. I asked the Home Secretary if he had asked the Chief Constables how many more officers they felt they needed to tackle crime. His answer was not helpful, nor did it answer my question. As a former soldier, I have some experience of policing the streets, although this was done in N Ireland. Nothing beats a physical presence on the streets, which assures and deters at the same time. The intelligence that my Guardsmen brought back off patrol was staggering and helped to produce a picture of terrorist activity that was of enormous value to the police, who we were supporting. I can see no difference in policing our streets today. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling was taken to task for not appearing at the Despatch Box to answer questions about a £33 million legal bill over ferry contracts. Health Secretary Matt Hancock appeared instead, which gave Opposition MPs some ammo to attack the missing Cabinet minister with. I attended a private political dinner at 1930, where we learnt we'd been dropped to a one-line whip.