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Sadiq Khan has slammed the government for “failing in their basic duty to keep people safe” after a wave of Bank Holiday violence in the capital.

The London Mayor blamed £1 billion of spending cuts made to the Met Police budget for the spate of attacks.

And he said the capital's police service was "overstretched" and "under-resourced".

On Saturday night a 17-year-old boy became the 15th teenager to be killed in London since Christmas when he was blasted in an alleged drive-by shooting in south London.

And on Sunday two teenagers, aged 13 and 15, and a 22-year-old man became the latest victims of gun attacks as the horrific spate of stabbings and shootings continue to plague the city.

The mum of Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton, who was gunned down in Southwark on Saturday evening, pleaded for her son's killing to be the last death.

(Image: MET Police)

Tearfully speaking of "handsome" Rhyhiem amid the crime wave, Pretana Morgan described how the aspiring architect had "so much potential".

She said: "Let my son be the last and be an example to everyone.

"Just let it stop. What must be, must be."

The Met are investigating more than 60 alleged murders so far this year and official statistics released in April showed the number of homicides in London had surged by 44% in the last year.

(Image: REUTERS)

The Mayor of London said: “Keeping Londoners safe is my top priority - I remain in constant contact with the Metropolitan Police and am reassured that they are doing everything they can to bring those responsible to justice and to keep us all safe.

“However, the police service in London, like the rest of the country, is overstretched and under-resourced.

“Violent crime has been rising across the country since 2014 and the Government is failing in their basic duty to keep people safe – imposing cuts of £1bn on the Met Police which risk sending police numbers to historically low levels.

“The Home Office’s own evidence shows you cannot keep cutting without consequences, and violent crime devastates communities and ruins lives.

“As Mayor I’m doing all I can to compensate for the failure of ministers.”

Khan said that City Hall is investing an additional £110 million in the Met to boost police numbers.

On top of this he had pledged £45 million to help tackle the causes of violent crime and support young people to turn away from criminality.

“I refuse to accept that nothing can be done to stem the appalling tide of violent killings we are seeing on our streets and together with the police, community groups, victims and their families and Londoners, will continue to work ceaselessly to tackle violent crime,” Khan added.

The Met said that there will be additional officers on the streets across the capital over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Elsewhere, two men died in stabbings in Liverpool and Luton during the bank holiday weekend.

A 20-year-old man died after being stabbed in Liverpool city centre early on Sunday morning, while another victim, also aged 20, was killed in Bishopscote Road in Luton that evening.