At Prime Minister’s questions, I asked:
“Why is he ignoring knife crime?”
In reply, the Prime Minister said:
“As well as tackling gun crime, we are introducing tougher sentences for the possession of knives as illegal weapons.”—[Official Report, 28 February 2007; Vol. 457, c. 924.]
That is what Tony Blair told me on 28 February 2007. I mention that because I want to put it on the record that this subject has interested me deeply for more than seven years.
Like other hon. Members, I have a constituent who lost a son to a knife crime. I am not proud of the fact that in Colchester, which is a relatively peaceful town with a relatively low crime rate, we have witnessed three knife murders over a period of eight or nine years. In two cases, the perpetrators were convicted and are in jail. In the third, which is still very much live and which the Essex constabulary are investigating, the victim suffered more than 100 knife wounds. A few weeks ago, someone else was attacked by two people with knives.
Such things can happen even in a relatively peaceful town with a low crime rate. The perception of crime in Colchester is the same as it is everywhere else: the perception is that a lot of crime is taking place. That is not the case in reality, but when something so horrendous happens, something clearly needs to be done.
5.45 pm
I do not think that anyone here supports knife crime. The only difference of opinion seems to relate to how sentencing should be dealt with. I want judges to have the maximum discretion and not to have their hands tied by Parliament, but we can disagree on that.
It is regrettable that the Home Affairs Committee was meeting this afternoon while the debate was taking place here. Eight of its 14 members who investigated this matter in considerable depth and detail in 2008-09—it was one of the most thorough inquiries that any Select Committee has ever conducted—are still Members of Parliament, including the then Chairman and Vice-Chairman, who hold the same posts today. I am sure that if those Members had been present, they would have wished to refer to some of that Committee’s unanimous conclusions. Here is one unanimous recommendation:
“While it may be an appropriate punishment for knife-carriers, evidence suggests that the prospect of a custodial sentence may not deter young people from carrying knives. Many young people do not think about the consequences of their actions, and for a small minority who feel at risk of violence, the prospect of jail seems preferable to the dangers of being caught without a weapon for protection. Evidence suggests that the fear of getting caught acts as a stronger deterrent for young people. This strengthens our support for strong police action against knives, including the use of stop and search.”
Another unanimous recommendation that was made six years ago—I am only dipping into the Committee’s reports, because time is against us—was as follows:
“While we consider that magistrates should be allowed a degree of discretion when sentencing those convicted of knife possession, and therefore oppose a mandatory sentence, we favour a more consistent approach to sentencing and custody for the majority of offenders. We are therefore pleased to note that there is now a presumption across England and Wales that knife-carriers will be charged, and that the number of offences resulting in custody rose during 2008.”
So it is fair to say that the last Government introduced measures, and that those measures were unanimously endorsed by the Home Affairs Committee.
One of the witnesses whom the Committee heard—it was the second occasion on which she gave evidence to it, as she had given written evidence during the previous year—was a lady called Anne Oakes-Odger, founder of KnifeCrimes.Org and Westley's Weapons Awareness Programme. Mrs Oakes-Odger’s son Westley was killed in Colchester on 12 September 2005, at the age of 27, during an incident at an ATM. I mention her because she is one of the mothers about whom we have heard today—women who, following their tragedies, have spent the rest of their lives doing what they can to ensure that others do not suffer as they have. Her evidence was extremely compelling.
The mother of a young man who was murdered in my constituency—she lives in Clacton, but the murder took place in Colchester—founded another organisation called Only Cowards Carry Weapons. She is drawing attention to knife crime in a high-profile way, because
she feels that it is the best way in which to make people aware of the awful situation that confronted her family.
I think the House is united in wishing to tackle knife crime. The only point of difference I have found in this entire debate is about whether judges should have more discretionary powers or fewer.