Knife Crime : The Minister for Crime Prevention

PM has been taking a closer look at knife crime, with a series of reports by Andrew Bomford. Those pieces featured Michelle McPhillips whose son Jonathon James (JJ) was fatally stabbed in North London two years ago.

PM wanted to examine some of the issues raised in more depth and to do so the programme hosted a public meeting in Islington where JJ was attacked. At the meeting, the role of the justice system, of schools and the importance of youth services were discussed.

Victoria Atkins was a criminal barrister working in London and now is the Government's Minister for Crime Prevention.

She addressed some of the questions raised at our public meeting, many of which revolved around there not being enough resources to tackle knife crime at an early stage.

(Photo: Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins, joins Police searching for knives in Lewisham
Credit: PA)