Tough new measures to combat knife crime welcomed by Feryal Clark MP as Labour Government introduces flagship Crime and Policing Bill

Tough new action to combat knife crime has been welcomed by Feryal Clark MP, Labour MP for Enfield North.

The Government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill fulfils multiple Labour manifesto commitments. During the campaign the Party pledged to ‘get knives off our streets’. The Bill introduced will give the police new powers to seize, retain and destroy knives held in private, applicable when the police believe the knife will be used in a violent crime.

Labour’s bill comes as statistics show that in London, knife crime rose by 83.85% under the Tories.

It also includes strong new rules to prevent online knife sales, including personal liability for senior managers of online platforms who fail to act on illegal content including knives and offensive weapons.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will also introduce a new offence of possession of an offensive weapon with intent to use unlawful violence. It also increases the maximum penalty for offences relating to the sale of offensive weapons.

The Bill will also strengthen age verification requirements for online sale of bladed products. The law will be named after 16-year old Ronan Kanda, stabbed to death in Wolverhampton by a boy who had used his mother’s ID to purchase a 22-inch sword online.

Making Britain’s streets safe is a major plank of this Labour Government’s Plan for Change, and the Government has pledged to half knife crime in a decade.

Feryal Clark MP, Labour MP for Enfield North, said:

“I wholeheartedly welcome this tough new action to crack down on knife crime and protect communities like mine in Enfield North. Too many children's lives are being lost, with families and communities left devastated as a result.

“This government has set an ambitious mission for the country to halve knife crime over the next decade and we will pursue every possible avenue to save young lives. I wholeheartedly welcome this tough new action to crack down on knife crime and protect communities like mine in Enfield North.

“This Government is committed to making Britain’s streets safe again, as part of Labour’s Plan for Change. I stand full square behind these efforts.”