CRIME
Idris Elba, knife crime and how we need to tackle it
As the Hollywood actor implores the government to do more, David Woode reflects on the fatal stabbings he has reported on as a crime correspondent
The Times’s crime correspondent David Woode, left: “Idris Elba is calling for an immediate ban on machetes, large blades and ‘zombie knives’ ”
JACKY GODARD/PHOTO12/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES; TOM JACKSON FOR THE TIMES
The Times
Wrapped up against the January chill in London, the Hollywood star Idris Elba yesterday stood among 247 sets of folded clothes in Parliament Square to highlight the lives lost to knife crime last year.
A simple yet arresting installation, the launch of the actor’s Don’t Stop Your Future campaign was designed to shame MPs into action as they returned to the Commons after the festive break. The Luther star is calling for an “immediate ban” on machetes, large blades and “zombie knives”, claiming progress to outlaw them has been too slow. Although zombie knives, which are described by the government as having “a cutting edge, a serrated edge and images or words suggesting it is used for violence”, were added to the list of prohibited
