Amber Rudd has admitted she hasn't read a leaked report blaming police cuts for a rise in violent crime - on the day she launches a strategy to tackle the trend.

The Home Secretary said there are "a lot of documents that go round" her department because "we do a lot of work in this area".

She was responding after a memo marked "official - sensitive" obtained by The Guardian found police cuts have "likely contributed" to a spike in violent crime.

The document said criminals may have been "encouraged" by the reduction in police staffing numbers and a fall in prosecution rates.

"I haven't seen this document," Ms Rudd told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday.


Govt cuts led to 'breeding ground for knife crime'

"There are a lot of documents that go round the Home Office. We do a lot of work in this area.

"Of course violent crime is a priority. I think that you do a disservice to the communities and the families by making this a political tit-for-tat about police numbers."

Ms Rudd later added: "There are many different views that people have, which is why I commissioned this report to make a really detailed look at it."

:: London's year of horror so far

London Mayor Sadiq Khan met with her that morning to discuss knife crime, which has risen significantly in the capital.

He wrote on Twitter that she had "some positive ideas on tackling violence".

Image: 51 people have died as a result of crime in London so far this year

But, he warned, "there needs to be an acceptance that cuts to policing and youth services are a factor".

It comes on the same day Ms Rudd launches a £40m Serious Violence Strategy to tackle violent drug gangs and introduce prevention inventive.

Ahead of the launch, she said the Government "must do whatever it takes" to make Britain's streets safe.

Home Office minister Victoria Atkins defended police numbers, which have been cut from 143,734 to 123,142 in seven years.

"We have to be led by the evidence and we know that in the most recent spikes in knife crime, there were many more police on the streets," she told Sky News Sunrise.

"By the time we've got the police involved, it's too late. We need to be getting to these young people before they make that terrible decision to pick up a knife."

She added the rise in violent crime was "incredibly complex" and that "we need to focus on all these factors, not just one or two".

More than 50 people have died in London since the start of 2018 as a result of crime.

Ms Rudd delivered a speech at on Monday morning laying out her plan to put an end to the killings.