Actor and musician Idris Elba is calling for an immediate ban on machetes and so-called zombie knives as he backs a new campaign to fight knife crime.
The Luther star is also lobbying for more funding for youth services, and is releasing a song in an effort to tackle youth violence across the UK.
Elba launched the campaign, called Don’t Stop Your Future, in London’s Parliament Square on Monday, warning that knife crime is at “boiling point” and that we “must end this horror now”.
It comes as The Independent revealed new figures showing that knife crime against women and girls has doubled over the past five years.
In August 2023, the Home Office promised that tougher measures against machetes and zombie-style knives would be introduced.
Machetes and knives designed to look intimidating and threatening would be made illegal, while the maximum penalty for the importation, manufacture, possession and sale of these weapons would be increased to two years in prison.
I can’t stay silent as more young lives are lost to these brutal and heartless crimes
Idris Elba
But progress in passing the new legislation through parliament has been slow, and several high-profile incidents have occurred since, including the killing of schoolgirl Elianne Andam.
The 15-year-old was stabbed to death on her way to school in Croydon, south London, in September with what was believed to be a large zombie knife. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with her murder.
Elianne Andam, 15, was stabbed to death on her way to school in Croydon, south London
(PA Wire)
Speaking about the campaign, Elba said: “I can’t stay silent as more young lives are lost to these brutal and heartless crimes.
“As school returns, too many young people will not be joining their classmates, and too many grieving families have lost a young person they love in recent years.
“Young people are our future: their potential deserves to be met, not taken away by violence.
“Parliament has repeatedly not given this issue the focus it deserves, and our political leaders need to prioritise it now. As well as an immediate ban on zombie knives and machetes, we need to give young people more of a reason not to carry a weapon in the first place. That means investing in the services that address the root causes of violent crime.”
Campaigners filled Parliament Square with neatly folded outfits, each bundle representing someone who has died through knife crime in the UK.
Patrick Green (left), Yemi Hughes, and Bishop Nicholson (right) join Idris Elba during the launch of his Don’t Stop Your Future campaign in Parliament Square, Westminster
(Yui Mok/PA Wire)
Elba told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’m just a parent, a parent who cares for his children.
“It’s not about being an actor or a politician. We’re all human beings and we live in a society, and we all have the right to feel safe in that society.”
Idris Elba spoke on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme ahead of the launch of his Don’t Stop Your Future campaign in Parliament Square
(Jeff Overs/BBC/PA Wire)
Elba’s song is called “Knives Down”, and it aims to give a voice to those most affected by knife crime and to use the power of music to raise awareness.
The actor turned musician reflected on his time with the National Youth Music Theatre and the Prince’s Trust as a teenager, which he says helped him start on a creative path, as he asked what help was available for young people today.
Don’t Stop Your Future has produced a series of billboards highlighting the risk across the country, which are displayed in cities including London, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield.
As well as the immediate ban on certain types of knife and the focus on youth services, Elba is calling for the government to form a coalition to end knife crime: a cross-party, cross-governmental working group that brings together stakeholders who have a role to play in tackling the problem.
Asked if police tactics such as stop and search can work as a deterrent, Elba said: “There are hard facts that stop and search may … help, but it’s not eradicating the issue.
“We need to think a little deeper than that. It’s not just about stop and search … Some kids are carrying these knives because they’re scared, and some are carrying knives because it makes them feel more protected.
“Stop and search will do some work, but we need to kind of pull the onion back a little further and figure out, what are the roots of these issues?”
Yemi Hughes holds the clothes that her son Andre Aderemi, 19, was wearing when he was stabbed to death in Croydon in 2016
(PA Wire)
Elba said he believes technology companies that advertise knives on social media should be held accountable.
He said: “I can pick up a phone right now, type in ‘knives’, and I’ll get inundated with adverts for them. We should find a way to deter tech companies, advertising… to put that away.”
Patrick Green, chief executive of anti-knife-crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: “Idris’s Don’t Stop Your Future campaign is a vital and much-needed intervention to shine a spotlight on serious youth violence, which has been neglected for too long.
“It’s horrifying that hardly a day goes by without the tragic news of someone being hurt, maimed, or even killed with a machete or zombie knife.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London, said: “Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe. Every death from knife crime is an utter tragedy.
“Sadiq welcomes Idris Elba’s ‘Don’t Stop Your Future’ campaign, which is helping to shine a light on this urgent national issue and echoes the Mayor’s long-standing call to change the law. Since 2016, we’ve repeatedly been promised action on zombie knives by the Government, but it has failed to deliver the changes desperately needed.
“There have been massive government cuts to policing and youth services over the last decade, and a nationwide increase in police recorded violent crime. But thanks to record investment in the police from City Hall and in early intervention through the Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit, the number of homicides in London last year fell to its lowest since 2014. Homicides, gun crime and the number of young people being injured with knives have all fallen in London since 2016.
“But it’s clear that violent crime remains far too high and there’s much more to do. The Mayor is determined to continue making progress by supporting the police to bear down on crime at the same time as being tough on the complex causes of crime – poverty, inequality and a lack of opportunities for young Londoners – which have all been made much worse by years of government cuts.”
Claire Waxman OBE, London’s Independent Victims’ Commissioner, said: “These new national figures evidencing the increased violence women and girls face are deeply disturbing. They underline the urgent need to take a public health approach to tackling the national epidemic of violence against women and girls and the shockingly low number of convictions.
“In London, the Mayor has overseen a record £163.8m investment to tackle all violence against women and girls. This funding is working to save lives, address waiting lists and keep doors open for vital specialist support services and crucially put the onus of change in behaviour on perpetrators not victims.
“That is part of the Mayor’s ongoing work that champions a public health approach to ending the violence and misogyny too many women face and our work to build a safer London for everyone.
“Through my Open Justice for Victims campaign, I’m calling on the Government to make key changes to the Victims and Prisoners Bill, new additions to the Victims’ Code, and ensure that women and girls are properly supported through the criminal justice system so they can secure the justice they deserve and dangerous perpetrators are prevented from harming anyone else.
“But more needs to be done, and the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and I urge the Government to follow City Hall’s lead and deliver funding to support women and girls affected by violence as well as properly fund long-term programmes to prevent abuse happening in the first place.”
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