Hundreds of additional police officers have been deployed on the streets of London this weekend in areas of the capital worst affected by the spike in violent crime.

It comes as Mayor of London Sadiq Khan promised more arrests and backed increasing the use of intelligence-led stop and search by police, insisting keeping Londoners safe is his “top priority”.

Mr Khan has also invited Home Secretary Amber Rudd and London MPs to a summit at City Hall next week to discuss new measures for tackling the violence.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has insisted the force has “not lost control” of the capital’s streets, but acknowledged the escalation of violence was “very worrying”.

The rising wave of knife crime saw six stabbings in 90 minutes in the capital on Thursday, with a 13-year-old left fighting for his life after an attack in Newham, east London. Three teenage boys, a 13-year-old and two 16-year-olds, have been charged over the incident.

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It follows the arrest of a 30-year-old man over the unconnected murder of Tanesha Melbourne-Blake, 17, who was gunned down in a drive-by attack as she chatted with friends in Tottenham on Monday.

The spate of knife crime has meant the number of suspected murders in London in March was higher than that of New York.

Meanwhile in Scotland, the number of school exclusions involving weapons has risen to a five-year high.

More police officers on the streets

An additional 300 Met Police officers deployed over the weekend will be working to reduce knife crime in the capital, Ms Dick has confirmed.

“From our part we need to up our efforts and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” she told LBC.

“Over this weekend we will have 300 more officers each day exclusively working against knife crime, exclusively in those parts of London that have been most affected recently.

“In what we call the hotspots.”

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She added: “We will be doing more stopping and searching of people in an effort to suppress violence and of course to take weapons off the street.

“We will be doing more stop and search for weapons and indeed we have been doing more and more stop and search for the purpose of finding weapons.”

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Sara Thornton, chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, warned stop-and-search powers are not being exercised enough in the fight against violent crime.

“Stop and search or arrests are not a silver bullet, but they are an important tool in helping to protect the public from violent crime,” she said.

More arrests

Mr Khan said he is “angered and heartbroken” by the number of violent deaths in London as he outlined his plans to address the problem.

The mayor urged police to be more “confident” when exercising their stop and search powers and promised “more targeted, intelligence-led” arrests.

“I have over the last two years said to the police 'be confident in intelligence led stop and search', to be confident in the body-worn camera protecting you against complaints that could be made - but also protecting the public as well,” he said.

“What you will see over the course of the next few weeks and months - is what we have seen over the last few weeks and months - which is stop-and-search based on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon going up, more arrests as a consequence of this intelligence-led stop-and-search going up and hopefully our city becoming safer.”

Sadiq Khan has announced plans to tackle the spate of knife crime credit: Bloomberg

He also called on family members and friends of people carrying knives to help tackle the problem.

“You could be a mum or dad, big brother, big sister, a friend, a girlfriend, a boyfriend who knows somebody carrying a knife, leaving their home with a knife, involved in criminality - there's no honour in keeping that a secret,” he said.

“You should try and prevent that person carrying a knife, leaving home with a knife.”

Mr Khan also said that cuts and the closure of youth centres has also had an impact on the rise in gang violence.

“Youth centres across London have closed down - there are now 12,700 fewer places for young people - after-school clubs have closed down - probation, prison services is in a meltdown - mental health issues in relation to professional in London - all this has an effect,” he said.

“I’m not excusing criminality. The responsibility for these acts of violence lay with the criminals - we are going to be tough on them and that is why we are investing in policing.”

City Hall summit

The Home Secretary and London MPs have been invited to a summit at City Hall to discuss the capital's violent crime wave.

Council leaders and London assembly members have also been invited by Mr Khan to attend the summit on Tuesday.

“I'm angered and heartbroken by the number of violent deaths on our streets and know other Londoners, including politicians, share the same feelings - and the same determination to end this violent scourge,” the mayor said.

“Keeping Londoners safe is my top priority and I want to reassure everyone that we're doing everything we can.

“We need to all work together to tackle the rise in violent crime. That's why it's more important than ever to find consensus where possible and work together to make sure every Londoner, regardless of age or background, feels safe in our great city. “It's what Londoners deserve.”