Knife Crime

We remember those who have lost their lives to knife crime, including 17-year-old Thomas Taylor, killed in Bedford, and 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa, killed in Woolwich just last week. Kelyan’s mother said: “I tried to prevent it. I’ve tried so many, so many times.” No mother should live with that grief or feel that level of fear for her teenage son. That is why this Government have set up the coalition to tackle knife crime, which involves families, alongside taking new action on serious violence.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer, and of course my sympathies also go out to that mother this weekend. Recently published data showed a sharp rise in serious violent crime in Scotland, particularly in our cities and towns. Too many of my constituents feel unsafe in East Kilbride town centre and the Village, particularly at night. Meanwhile, the SNP Government’s chronic underfunding of Police Scotland has resulted in officer numbers being at their lowest level since 2008. Does the Secretary of State agree that the SNP now has the funding in place to increase police numbers, and that protecting our community and citizens should be its priority?

My hon. Friend is right to say that the Scottish Government have a significant increase in funding, so they can take action to improve public services. This Government have made it a mission to halve knife crime over the next decade, including taking action to get dangerous weapons, such as zombie knives and ninja swords, off our streets by preventing the unlawful sale of these lethal blades, particularly to children.

My constituents in Whitley had their Christmas disrupted by an alarming threat of knife crime. We have seen too many tragedies of this kind in Reading over the last few years, so I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s mission to halve knife crime. I have applied for my Earley and Woodley constituency to be a trial location for the new respect orders. Will the Home Secretary meet me and my constituents to discuss how we can tackle the root problems that cause people, particularly young people, to carry knives?

The Policing Minister and I will happily talk further to my hon. Friend. She is right that we need to prevent young people from obtaining and carrying knives in the first place, as well as making sure there is swift intervention. We are also taking action, working with police forces across the country, to tackle knife-enabled robbery, which is one of the areas that has seen the biggest increases in recent years.

I thank the Home Secretary for her response. Over the past five years, there have been 900 convictions for knife-related crimes in Northern Ireland. There is an epidemic in Northern Ireland, with almost 200 convictions in the last year alone. What discussions has the Home Secretary had with the relevant authorities, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, to help us address this issue?

The hon. Member will know that the PSNI takes this issue extremely seriously. The issues of knife crime are devastating to families, and he is right to be deeply concerned about the increases we have seen. Frankly, it is still far too easy for young people to get hold of knives. That is why we asked Commander Stephen Clayman to conduct a detailed review of the online sale and delivery of knives, and we expect his report back shortly.

A nurse was stabbed in an emergency department in Oldham over the weekend. Will the Home Secretary join me in condemning any attack on our health and social care workers, and especially the one at the weekend?

The hon. Member makes an extremely important point. Our public servants, particularly our nursing and medical staff, work to save lives, support people and help patients. They do so trusting that the people who come to see them are asking for their help. He is right to talk about the devastating attack at the Oldham hospital, and we are all thinking about the nurse and all those working in the hospital, as well as about the police investigation that I know is under way.