Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins and Home Secretary Sajid Javid

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Ms Atkins, who became a minister last November, has special responsibility for combatting knife offences as well as gangs and counter-extremism. She said parents should “look in your kitchen drawer and count your knives and make sure you know where the knives are”. Her remarks follow a violent start to 2018 in which nearly 50 people have been killed in knife attacks in London alone. Ms Atkins was clear her advice applies not just to those living in big cities, but in small towns and villages as well.

So called “county lines” gangs, which tend to be based in major cities, also recruit troubled youths to peddle drugs in rural areas. The minister also hit out at social media companies, who she claims need to do more to combat gang produced videos which insight violence. She noted her shock at the videos, explaining “I’ve seen some of these videos, these videos have the name of the people or the gangs that people want to murder”. The politician added technology companies “have to up their game on this, the public expect them to” though “they are beginning to realise the public is losing patience”.

London stabbings: Police investigate knife crime in the Capital Sat, April 7, 2018 London has witnessed a surge in knife crime in 2018 Play slideshow PA 1 of 9 Forensic officers search Tottenham's Chalgrove Road after a 17-year-old was murdered

In the past two years YouTube claims to have removed 30 videos which incited violence, following requests from the Metropolitan Police. The UK crime rate, and in particular knife crime incidents, have increased significantly in recent years. In the year to September 2017 the England and Wales crime rate increased by 14 percent over the previous year, whilst knife crime shot-up by 21 percent to 37,443 offences. London’s murder rate temporarily overtook New York’s for the first time in March, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan has come under increasing pressure to take decisive action.

In turn, Mr Khan and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn have pointed the finger at police cuts with the number of officers falling by more than 20,000 since 2010. Home Secretary Sajid Javid has pledged to prioritise police funding during next year’s Government spending review. Earlier this year Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick hit out at those drill music video which “glamourise” violence. Ms Atkins, who had a legal career before entering politics, also addressed the shocking fact that nearly 40 percent of second-hand knife offenders don’t get sent to prison, despite Judges being supposed to give out custodial sentences.

There have been nearly 50 fatal stabbings in London so far this year