Khan Says It Could Take Ten Years to Solve London Knife Crime After Fourth Fatal Stabbing in Five Days

Labour’s London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that it could take a decade to solve London’s knife crime epidemic after the capital saw its fourth fatal stabbing in five days.

The left-wing Mayor insisted that London was a “safe, global city” and told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday that “the rise in violent crime is unacceptable” and “to really make significant progress” in stopping the knife crime wave, it “can take up to ten years”.

Khan’s comments come after the capital saw its fourth stabbing in five days.

On Sunday, a 22-year-old man was stabbed to death in broad daylight, at 12:30pm, on Sunday in south-east London. Two men, aged 19 and 21, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

That homicide came after 17-year-old Malcolm Mide-Madariola had been fatally stabbed outside Clapham South station on Friday; Jay Hughes, 15, and one of the city’s youngest stabbing fatalities, was killed on Thursday outside of a fast food restaurant; and on Wednesday, Rocky Djelal, 38, was stabbed to death near a children’s playground at Southwark Park.

Mayor Khan Launches £500,000 ‘Public Health’ Approach to Crime Wave https://t.co/Ym4RAuxsl0

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Mayor Khan, who has launched a programme to treat crime as a “public health” issue, continued to blame Conservative Government cuts to policing and public services for the rise in crime.

However, Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins told the BBC that “the claim about police numbers isn’t supported by the evidence about previous spikes in serious violence”.

“The nature of crime is changing… gangs are far more ruthless than they used to be,” Ms Atkins said.

“When I speak to the victims of crime and their families they’re not talking about police numbers — they want to stop young people getting involved in serious crime in the first place,” she added.