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Buying cocaine is now so easy it's like ordering a pizza on Deliveroo, an MP declared today.

Tottenham's David Lammy blamed drug gangs for a surge in youth violence as London suffered its 50th suspected murder so far this year.

And he blasted both Labour, his own party, and the Tories for not doing enough to tackle the issue.

He said: "I’ve had four deaths (in my constituency).

"I’ve not had a phone call from the Home Secretary (Tory Amber Rudd), I’ve not had a phone call from the mayor (Labour's Sadiq Khan). No one has come to visit my constituency.

"Frankly I'm sick of the political football. What I want is a political consensus."

(Image: i-Images Picture Agency) (Image: AFP)

A young man died last night after being stabbed in east London, bringing the total number of suspected murders in the capital so far this year past 50.

The man, thought to be in his 20s, was found fatally wounded by officers on patrol in Hackney just before 8pm on Wednesday.

There have been no arrests, a crime scene remains in place and the reasons behind the death are not yet known.

But the death, and others in previous days, have fuelled a wider debate about youth violence in the capital.

Mr Lammy told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What drives the gangs and the turf wars is an £11billion cocaine drugs market.

"I think the police and our country has lost control of that drugs market."

Surgeon Martin Griffiths told the BBC: "A young boy being stabbed five or six years ago was a horror story - now it's the norm."

Mr Lammy, an MP of 18 years, said the situation is the worst he's ever seen it - and blasted the Tories for cutting everything from Border Force officers to youth services.

(Image: PA)

Children as young as 12 are being recruited into gangs to run drugs across county lines, he said.

He added: "I’m hearing nothing about what we’re going to do about that rising drugs market.

"Drugs are prolific. It's like Deliveroo - they’re as prolific as ordering a pizza.

"You can get them on Snapchat, WhatsApp. That in the end is driving the turf war and is driving the culture of violence."

He added: "I do know from police that there are big gangs, Eastern European, Albanian, they traffic people, they traffic drugs and they traffic guns. That has got worse."

Theresa May’s former chief of staff Nick Timothy today defended Theresa May’s reforms of police stop and search powers when she was Home Secretary.

Instead he said the London mayor and Met Commissioner Cressida Dick should look at prevention strategies deployed in Glasgow.

Mr Lammy and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott also recommended parties get together to use Glasgow's cross-party approach.