Labour MP "Scared" About Rising Knife Crime After Her Nephew Was Stabbed
A Labour MP says she is frightened by the rise of knife crime in her constituency after her nephew was last month stabbed on a bus. (Alamy)
4 min read
A Labour MP has told PoliticsHome she is frightened by the rise of knife crime after her nephew was stabbed on a bus in Birmingham last month.
Paulette Hamilton, Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington, said rising knife crime in her constituency left her truly realising just how "scared" local families feel on their streets after her teenage nephew was stabbed in a "random" attack in the city.
"I didn't truly understand how it feels, until someone that I saw within hours of being born nearly died," she told PoliticsHome.
West Midlands Police recorded the highest rate of crimes with a knife of any police force area in England and Wales in 2023/24, with 178 offences per 100,000 people. In the same year, there were around 50,500 offences involving knives or sharp objects across England and Wales, a 4.4 per cent increase on 2022/23, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The government aims to halve knife crime in the next decade, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper saying she will "pursue every possible avenue to save young lives".
In an interview with PoliticsHome, Hamilton said that while she supports the government's mission, frightened constituents feel politicians "don't understand what's going on".
"I know Labour's only been in for seven months, and they are saying they want to reduce knife crime by 50 per cent, but when you see the effects on families, it just makes you scared.
"You think to yourself: an inch here or an inch there, you could have lost his arm. You could have lost his life... And families are living with this day in, day out."
The Labour MP added: "I know that legislation is going through parliament about knife crime at the moment...
"But I truly feel that families are feeling scared. They're feeling intimidated, they feel that we don't understand what is going on, and I didn't truly understand how it feels, until someone that I saw within hours of being born nearly died."
The MP's nephew, who Hamilton asked to be anonymous, was attacked waiting at a bus stop in central Birmingham last month. He had been shopping when three young people in a car pulled up and asked him who he was and what he was doing in the area.
"He got scared and he ran," said Hamilton.
"They started to chase him, but the bus then came the other way. He jumped on the bus. They followed him on the bus, and then they started to hack at him."
Members of the public came to his aid and "helped stem the bleeding until the police and the ambulance came". He was then taken to hospital where his serious injuries required surgery.
"He's got some tendon damage, and he broke one of his arms. His two arms are bandaged up, and he's not able to go to college, and he hasn't left the house... The family is just rallying round."
Hamilton believes cuts to youth centres and services in her area in recent years have contributed to a rise in knife crime in her area.
"I haven't got a single youth centre left. I haven't got any resources for young people, although 69 per cent of my constituency is under the age of 45."
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper aims to halve knife crime in the next decade (Alamy)
She continued: "Some of it is not about legislation...
"It's more about providing funding to support what local councils are doing, what local voluntary organisations are doing, to help families who are struggling to ensure that they can put the resources in when they see that a problem is developing before it's got out of hand...
"You want to see a more long term funding structure where people can actually feel 'we've got five years to make a difference, we've got seven years to make a difference'."
Minister for crime and policing Diana Johnson told PoliticsHome: "My thoughts are with Paulette and her family during this difficult time as her nephew recovers from this terrible knife attack.
"It is another stark demonstration of the devastating impact knife crime has on families and communities across our country. Such violence cannot be allowed to continue.
"Our mission to halve knife crime is not just a policy pledge. It is a moral imperative that we must deliver through tougher enforcement and better prevention measures, working alongside communities and campaigners to ensure more young people are protected from violence."
Last month, the government announced 'Ronan's Law' in a bid to tackle knife crime, requiring retailers to report suspicious or mass purchasing of knives, as well as stronger sentences for those selling knives to under 18s, and a new police unit to monitor knives being sold illegally.
The law was brought in following the murder of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda in Wolverhampton in 2022.
Hamilton thanked the emergency services that treated her nephew after he was stabbed.
"The hospital that dealt with my nephew and the police were absolutely fantastic, they were really supportive, they were really caring.
"I'd like to formally thank West Midlands Police for everything they did for my family without even knowing that I was involved in it."
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