Latest news with #CoalitiontoTackleKnifeCrime
ITV News
4 days ago
- Politics
- ITV News
PM announces eight hubs to open later this year, aimed at tackling knife crime
The prime minister has set out plans for a series of "Young Futures Hubs" to be opened later this year whilst attending a summit at St James' Palace hosted by the king. The hubs are intended to bring together a series of services aimed at helping teenagers and young people at risk of being dragged into gang violence, knife crime, or facing mental health difficulties. The intial launch will see eight hubs opened in areas with high levels of knife crime or antisocial beahviour. These will be opened and supported with an initiual two million pounds from the Treasury. The government plan to open a total of 50 Young Futures Hubs over the course of their current term in office. These hubs will run in tandem with a new pilot of "Prevention Partnership Panels," a system of multi-agency groups working to identify and refer vulnerable at risk teenagers to services like the Young Future Hubs. The government say more than 20 of these panels will be up and running in the coming months, across the areas of the country that collectively account for more than 80% of knife crime. The prime minister made the announcement at a summit attended by King Charles, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and actor Idris Elba who has worked extensively in combatting knife crime. The summit was also attended by members of the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, set up at Downing Street last year, as well as families and victims of knife crime. In a statement, the prime minister said his government was elected "on a pledge to tackle knife crime," and that they had already made progress in banning the sale of dangerous weapons. 'We are determined to do more to prevent vulnerable young people from turning to violence in the first place and open greater opportunities," Starmer said. "As part of the Plan for Change, we will open up Young Futures Hubs across the country to stop teenagers from being dragged into crime and find a better future.' The Home Secretary also called Tuesday's summit a "powerful reminder of what can be achieved when government, communities, and campaigners come together with a shared purpose." Data: ONS One of those in attendance was Kyle Shaw-Tullin, a Royal Marine Commando and Team GB boxer who was stabbed in Oldham, Greater Manchester, as a teenager. He told attendees that getting back in the boxing ring after the attack helped keep him out of trouble. 'After getting stabbed, I really turned my life around, mainly because of my boxing coach. He was a great mentor for me. 'But boxing was so important because it meant six nights a week I weren't on the streets, I knew where I'd be. 'I'm not able to mess about – I'd be too tired to do anything else.' The king said he was 'riveted' by Mr Shaw-Tullin's story, adding that it was 'quite a good point' about 'being too exhausted to get into trouble'. The summit also saw discussions about the general issues facing young people today, with the prime minister telling campaigners he thought they were 'inspirational'. He went on to say he found it, "really humbling that people who have been through some of the most horrendous ordeals are able then somehow to turn that around and channel it into work to help other people that they will probably never meet and never know." He continued: 'I often ask myself, because we've got a 17-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, I often ask myself, how would I react? And I'm not sure I would have the courage and resilience that you have to do what you do for other people.' Starmer also praised actor Idris Elba's 'brilliant' campaign against knife crime, called Don't Stop Your Future. Speaking about the campaign, Idris Elba said whilst there had been 'milestones,' in tackling the issue, "we can't take our foot off the pedal," when it comes to their work. 'We've seen some things happen, and that's great. 'There's also been a small rise in knife crime at the same time, OK? 'And compared to the year before that rising knife crime might be less than the year before, but it was still a rise. 'So we can't take our foot off the pedal. 'We have to stay focused.' The government claim to have implemented the "strongest controls" on dangerous knives, banning zombie-style knives and ninja swords, with plans to toughen up online sales. These include sanctions for tech executives who fail to remove illegal knife crime content from their platforms. In September, the Prime Minister launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, bringing together campaign groups, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders. The Prime Minister will reconvene this group later in the year to update on the progress the Government has made during its first year in office.
Sky News
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Tech firms face fines up to £60,000 for failing to remove knife crime content
Social media companies will be fined up to £60,000 each time a post relating to knife crime is not removed from their sites in a bid to stop children viewing "sickening" content. The new sanction expands on previously announced plans to fine individual tech executives up to £10,000 if their platforms fail to remove material advertising or glorifying knives following 48 hours of a police warning. It means tech platforms and their executives could collectively face up to £70,000 in penalties for every post relating to knife crime they fail to remove, with the new laws applying to online search engines as well as social media platforms and marketplaces. Crime and policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said the content that young people scroll through every day online "is sickening" adding: "That is why we are now going further than ever to hold to account the tech companies who are not doing enough to safeguard young people from content which incites violence, particularly in young boys." The sanctions for tech platforms will be introduced via an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill. It is separate to the Online Safety Bill, which aims to protect children from online harm, which some campaigners and parents have criticised for not going far enough. The Home Office said today's announcement follows "significant consultation" with the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime, launched by Sir Keir Starmer in September as part of his bid to half knife offences in a decade. Patrick Green, chief executive of The Ben Kinsella Trust, a knife prevention charity which is part of the coalition, welcomed the measure, telling Sky News social media companies have "proved themselves to be incapable of self-regulation". "There's been a real reluctance of social media companies to take action sufficiently quickly. It's shameful, we shouldn't need legislation," he said. 4:05 The Ben Kinsella Trust is named after teenager Ben Kinsella who was fatally stabbed in 2008 on the way home from the pub after celebrating his GCSEs. Months earlier, Ben had written to then prime minister Gordon Brown to urge his government to tackle knife crime. Knife crime rates soar However, the problem has soared since then. In the year to March 2024, there were 53 teenage victims aged 13-19 in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics. That is a 140% increase on the 22 teenage victims a decade earlier. Overall, police recorded 54,587 knife-related offences in 2024, up 2% on the previous year and more than double the 26,000 offences recorded in 2014. Mr Green told Sky News that while knife crime has been happening "long before social media took hold", online content glamorising the possession of a knife is hindering efforts to reduce it. "There will be pictures of these knives [on social media] with 'follow me' luring young people onto places where these knives are sold. It's never been easier for a child to buy a knife." 'One part of a larger problem' However, while welcoming today's announcement he said social media was "one part of a larger problem", adding that "provisions of youth services have been decimated" and "much more needs to be done". The government's plan to halve knife crime in a decade includes banning zombie-style knives and ninja swords, with a nationwide surrender scheme launching in July, and stronger laws for online retailers selling knives. Ministers also want to increase prison sentences for selling weapons to under-18s and introduce a new offence for possessing a weapon with intent for violence, with a prison sentence of up to four years. Government 'can't police the internet' Last month, Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty suggested violent videos viewed online should be used as evidence to prosecute under the new law. He was speaking during a debate he secured on knife crime, in which he criticised a wider culture which "valorises" criminality and gangs in music and the media. On the measures announced today, the Huntingdon MP told Sky News that while "any measures to help reduce instances of knife crime are hugely welcome", he was doubtful that the sanctions could be effectively enforced. "The sheer scale of content on social media that glorifies or incites violence is staggering, let alone content returned by search engines," he said. "The government can't possibly hope to realistically police the internet. "The government must tackle the culture that promotes and encourages the use of knives and ensure that there are robust consequences to doing so, not simply pretend they will have online content removed."
