The photo has been splashed on front pages, with the Daily Mail saying: "Do you still want to hug a hoodie, Dave?"

But Mr Cameron's spokesman said the picture "perfectly illustrates the problems David was talking about".

The youth, 17-year-old Ryan Florence, is electronically tagged after being in a young offenders' institution.

Florence, who served four months for burglary and street robbery, told the BBC the gesture was just "messing about".

"He says he's coming round to stop the crime and that, but what's he doing? He's not stopping us, is he?," he said.