Political Editor - Knife Crime Let Off

Reading East MP Condemns Knife Crime Let Off

Reading East MP, Rob Wilson, today condemned guidelines issued by the Lord Chief Justice that those discovered carrying knives should escape with just a community sentence. Under guidelines issued through the Sentencing Guidelines Council to Magistrates Courts in England and Wales those with other mitigating circumstances could even get away merely with a fine.

Rob who has campaigned against knife crime with the “Knives Cost Lives” campaign condemned the new guidelines as “utterly irresponsible” and called on the Government to intervene and reject the guidance. Rob said, “At a time when the Government has just reclassified cannabis to a higher category in order to ‘send a message’ to users and dealers, what sort of message does it send to those carrying knives that it has effectively been down-graded to the same level as a traffic offence? It is utterly irresponsible to reduce the penalties on those carrying knives. The best way to stop knives being used is to clamp down on them being carried.”

In March 2007 Rob Wilson led a delegation to Number 10 Downing Street of victims of knife crime to present a petition calling for tougher sentences for those carrying and using knives illegally.

The presentation was part of the 'Knives Cost Lives' campaign, which calls for tougher sentencing for knife murders and for carrying a knife, plus better education for young people about the risks of carrying knives. The campaign was started by Lucy Davis, sister of Scott Davis (who was brutally stabbed 9 times and died of his injuries in Reading Town Centre), and her local MP Rob Wilson.

The campaign now represents families from across the UK, including the families from Wokingham Mrs Jan Bayliss and Ms Sumintra Nadauld. Their sons Steven, 16yrs old and Twood, 14yrs old, were tragically stabbed to death in September 2005 and their bodies were found in a field in Wokingham. Steven died after having his throat cut while ‘Twood’ Nadauld, whose full name is Nuttawut Nadauld, died from several knife wounds.

There were two / three other high profile families - one from London and two from Essex.

These families took their campaign to the heart of Government, holding meetings with the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, in July 2006, the Solicitor-General, Mike O’Brien, and Home Office Ministers. The Government pledged at the time to listen to the concerns of the families affected.

For Further Information contact: Rob Wilson on 0797 383 4035 or 0118 375 9785