Chuka Umunna, Shadow Business Secretary and Labour MP for Streatham says young gang members display 'entrepreneurial zeal' in their criminal activities and should be encouraged to start their own businesses.

He expressed that teenagers caught up in street crime exhibit high levels of business acumen that could be put to better use if channelled in the right way.

Mr Umunna thinks the way gangs build their own 'brand' through the internet shows a sense of imagination that despite being 'shocking', needs to be readdressed and encouraged positively.

He will concentrate on his own borough of Lambeth as an excellent example of how the skills and energies of young people are being ignored as they become drawn into a life of crime.

Mr Umunna, who is also Chair of the London Gangs Forum, says: 'Make no mistake,at the heart of these gangs activities are criminality and very serious violence.

'But if one studies what Lambeth’s gangs do in more detail, it is both shocking and frustrating - they put a lot of effort into building up their gang’s brand.

'You can find music videos they produce to promote their activities on YouTube. This brand building is shocking because it glamorises what they do.

'What frustrates me is many of these young people are using skills that if channelled in the right way, would provide them with an alternative route to success.'

He adds: 'In Lambeth, too much of this entrepreneurial instinct is being channelled into totally the wrong thing.
'Their entrepreneurial zeal, used in a legitimate business setting,could provide them with a ladder up.

'We must make legitimate business a more feasible avenue through which our young people can realise their dreams even when all else may have failed them.'