Justice Secretary says middle-class drug users should feel guilt over stabbing surge
1 min read
Middle-class drug users who snort cocaine at dinner parties should blame themselves when teenagers are stabbed on the streets, the Justice Secretary has said.
David Gauke said wealthy hedonists should feel guilty for the rise in gang violence which has led to a stabbing surge in UK cities.
“People who do that have to recognise that they are fuelling the industry that is resulting in the knife crimes,” he told Sky News show Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
“There is a responsibility for middle-class people who take cocaine at a dinner party, that when they see a story of a 15-year-old being stabbed in Hackney, they should feel a degree of guilt and responsibility.”
At least 37 people have been fatally stabbed in London since the start of the year - with the murder rate higher in the capital than in New York two months ago.
Official statistics show knife crime soared by 22% in England and Wales in 2017, while gun crime was up 11%.
Violence is also rising outside of major cities, as drug dealers seek to tap new markets in rural areas as part of a network known as ‘county lines’.
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