Idris Elba joins Keir Starmer for anti-knife crime summit in Downing Street

Actor and musician Idris Elba will meet Keir Starmer in No10 as part of a new coalition to tackle the scourge of knife crime. The Prime Minister has invited campaigners to Downing Street on Monday for talks after promising families of victims during the election that he would drive down violence on Britain’s streets. Mr Starmer has vowed to halve knife crime within the decade, with new legislation promised to ban ninja swords and tougher restrictions on online sale of knives. It comes after police recorded nearly 50,000 knife offences in the year to December 2023 in England and Wales, a rise of 7% on the previous year. Crimes involving knives are 3% lower than the pre-pandemic total of 51,206 offences in the year to March 2020. But it comes after a decade of rising violence, with knife offending up 81% since 2015. Idris, who launched his “Don’t Stop Your Future” campaign with the Mirror this year, said: “We need to tackle the root causes of knife crime, not just the symptoms. The Coalition is a positive step toward rehabilitating our communities from the inside out.” Mr Starmer joined forces with Idris on the campaign trail in June, where the Labour leader was left visibly moved by tragic stories from the families of knife crime victims. The PM said: “As Director of Public Prosecutions, I saw first-hand the devastating impact that knife crime has on young people and their families. This is a national crisis that we will tackle head on. “We will take this moment to come together as a country – politicians, families of victims, young people themselves, community leaders and tech companies – to halve knife crime and take back our streets.” Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We will not sit back while precious lives are being lost and young people’s futures destroyed. That is why we are making it a mission for the country to halve knife crime in a decade. “Getting weapons off our streets and making sure there are tough and clear consequences for violence are vital. And we also need to prevent young people heading down this path – that means offering young people more hope, more opportunities. “This Coalition is crucial – bringing together those who have fought so passionately for change and who know how devastating knife crime can be and why we need action now.” Commander Stephen Clayman, the National Policing lead for knife crime, will lead a rapid review into online sales of lethal weapons to young people, reporting to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper by the end of the year. Technology companies, sporting organisations, the health service, and the police are also involved in what is expected to the first annual knife crime summit.