Prosecution of Serious and Violent Crime: West Ham and Beckton

We are taking strong action as part of our plan for change to tackle the serious and violent crime on our streets. Our new Crime and Policing Bill will back our police and prosecutors by giving them enhanced and tougher powers to keep our streets safe, to tackle antisocial behaviour and to crack down on knife crime. I know my hon. Friend will also welcome the record £1.16 billion investment in the Metropolitan police from the Home Secretary and the Mayor of London, which will help deliver this Government’s safer streets mission in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

My constituents in West Ham and Beckton are extremely concerned about knife crime. We have had a serious number of incidents over the last few years, including in the last few weeks. Could my hon. and learned Friend reassure my constituents on the work that the Government are doing to take a stronger approach on prosecuting knife crime and the work being done to support victims?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this important issue. This Government have already banned machetes. We are introducing legislation that will clamp down on the sale of dangerous knives online, and we are committed to banning ninja swords, too. I recently met the CPS’s victim transformation programme and heard how the CPS is fundamentally transforming the way it provides support to victims to ensure that they get the assistance they need at every stage of the criminal justice process.