Tackle knife and drug crime, Hearn urges council

Sports entrepreneur Barry Hearn has urged councillors to tackle knife and drug-related crime on his doorstep.

He said carrying blades was "a girly thing to do" and that "proper men go to the gym".

Hearn made the comments in a speech after being made an honorary freeman of the borough by Brentwood Borough Council.

The Essex-based local authority awarded him the title to recognise his services to the area, which included making it the home of snooker's English Open.

The sports promoter founded Matchroom Sport in 1982 and moved operations from east London to Brentwood's Mascalls building in 2005.

During his acceptance speech, Hearn implored councillors to be brave in their decision-making.

"A fighter going out in the 10th round and he's been decked three times already - he gets up again if he's a proper man. Essex is full of those types of people," he told the meeting on Wednesday.

"Let's be brave, let's work on the drug problem we've got in Brentwood.

"Let's work on the crime problem we've got coming, the number of kids with knives."

Hearn said those carrying knives were not "brave", adding: "That's a girly thing to do. Proper men go to the gym, get rid of their aggravation in a nice, accessible way."

The council was run by a minority Liberal Democrat administration up until May's local elections. It is yet to declare how it is now structured.

There were 11 drugs offences reported in Brentwood in March, according to Essex Police, as well as 45 violent or sexual crimes.

In March 2024, there were three drug offences recorded and 44 violent and sexual crimes.

The force said incidents of serious violence involving knives across the county had dropped from 1,021 between April 2024 to 2025, to 858 in the year to April 2026.

A fly-on-the-wall Netflix documentary showed the inner workings of Matchroom when it was aired in 2025.

According to the Sunday Times rich list, Hearn and his son Eddie are the third wealthiest people in UK sport, with a combined worth of £1.035bn.

Hearn said the council "need to really graft like Essex boys and girls have always done" to make the town "the pick of the country".

Closing his speech, he added: "Thank you for the honour, I deeply appreciate it, and thank you for putting up with the ramblings of an old man."

Brentwood Borough Council was contacted for comment.

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