Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last met the Mayor of London to discuss knife crime in London.

Tackling knife crime remains a priority for the Government and our work is centred on four key strands working with the police on operations and enforcement, work on the legislative framework, work with retailers on responsible sales, and early intervention and prevention.

The Home Office works closely with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime on a range of issues including knife crime. The Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Sarah Newton MP, met Sophie Linden, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in London on the 19 December to discuss knife crime and youth violence.

The Home Office are encouraging police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. The operation includes targeting habitual knife carriers, weapon sweeps, test purchases of knives from identified retailers, and the use of surrender bins. The Home Office hosted an all force briefing event which I attended on Operation Sceptre on 14 June and the next week of action which will include the Metropolitan Police Service will take place in July.