Labour heavyweight backs Idris Elba's call for major kitchen knife change to save lives

Andy Slaughter, who chairs the Commons Justice Committee, told The Mirror helium is hopeful caller rules tin spot crisp tips removed from room knives pursuing a telephone by histrion Idris Elba

An influential Labour MP has backed Idris Elba's telephone for crisp points to beryllium removed from room knives to prevention lives.

Andy Slaughter, who chairs the Commons Justice Committee, told The Mirror helium has met with ministers and is hopeful the Government adopts the move. He admitted: "When I archetypal heard it I thought it was mad, but present I'm a convert."

Mr Slaughter said implicit the years helium has go convinced the move, on with different measures, volition interaction connected the UK's weapon transgression epidemic. The Labour MP said: "I would comparison it with restricting the merchantability of paracetamol. This saw a melodramatic driblet successful suicides. If it's not arsenic casual to stab radical to decease anymore, the probe shows those types of deaths and injuries volition decrease.

"That doesn't mean that you won't get a room weapon causing a slashing wounded but astir each the deaths that are caused by weapon transgression are caused by plunging a weapon into somone.

"If you don't person a pointed weapon you can't truly bash that." And similar Mr Elba helium questioned whether astir radical request their room knives to person crisp points. "If you deliberation astir it however often bash you usage the tip? You don't."

It comes aft the Hollywood histrion said during acclaimed documentary Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis: "Not each room knives request to person a constituent connected them. That sounds similar a brainsick happening to say, but you tin inactive chopped your nutrient without the constituent connected your knife, which is an innovative mode to look astatine it."

Mr Slaughter, who has been an MP since 2005, praised Mr Elba for raising the thought again. He said: "All the probe is there, each the grounds is there." And helium said: "It's wide they (the Home Office) are looking astatine it seriously."

The committee president earlier told the Commons that sharp-pointed room knives are "far and distant the astir communal execution limb successful England and Wales". He suggested that incentives could beryllium offered to manufacturers and retailers who merchantability blunted knives, successful bid to marque them harder to get clasp of.

Mr Slaughter said respected surgeons, psychiatrists and academics agree. He said helium has worked with retired justice Nic Madge, who grabbed headlines successful 2018 by suggesting removing the crisp constituent from room knives.

Mr Madge wrote: "Why bash we request 8 oregon 10-inch kitchenknives with points? Butchers and fishmongers do, but however often, if astatine all, does a home cook usethe constituent of an 8 oregon 10-inch knife? Rarely.

" Yes, we request abbreviated pointed knives to fillet food oregon piercemeat, but they are little apt to beryllium lethal. Any weapon tin origin an injury, but slash wounds fromblades are seldom fatal.

"It is the points of agelong knives which origin beingness threatening and fatal injuries." The Government has pledged to halve weapon transgression wrong a decade.

Lucy Powell, Labour's person of the Commons, told MPs: "I volition perfectly articulation him (Mr Slaughter) successful supporting the enactment of Idris Elba who I cognize met the Prime Minister successful Downing Street arsenic portion of a conjugation to tackle weapon crime."

She pointed retired that the Government had banned zombie knives and was bringing guardant a prohibition connected ninja swords - arsenic good arsenic measures to divert young radical distant from violence.

The Mirror has contacted the Home Office for a comment.