{"id":137185,"date":"2024-01-08T10:53:56","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T10:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/01\/08\/ban-zombie-knives-and-machetes-now-idris-elba-says\/"},"modified":"2024-01-08T10:53:56","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T10:53:56","slug":"ban-zombie-knives-and-machetes-now-idris-elba-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/01\/08\/ban-zombie-knives-and-machetes-now-idris-elba-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Ban \u2018zombie knives\u2019 and machetes now, Idris Elba says \u2013"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Idris Elba is calling on the government to immediately ban the sale of so-called \u201czombie\u201d knives and machetes, to reduce the number of young people losing their lives.<\/p>\n
The Luther star told the BBC a planned law change to bring in the ban need to be fast-tracked.<\/p>\n
He accused politicians of not giving the issue \u201cthe focus it deserves\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Home Office\u00a0has previously announced plans\u00a0to give police more powers to seize knives.<\/p>\n
Clothes to represent the victims of knife crime will be displayed in London\u2019s Parliament Square on Monday.<\/p>\n
Organisers hope the bundles of clothes will provide a visual demonstration of the huge human cost of knife crime to MPs returning from the Christmas recess.<\/p>\nA display at Parliament Square is intended to be a tribute to the lives lost<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The event is part of Elba\u2019s\u00a0Don\u2019t Stop Your Future\u00a0campaign, which works with local communities and well-known brands to try to tackle serious violence.<\/p>\n
London-born Elba said he \u201ccan\u2019t stay silent as young lives are lost to brutal and heartless crimes\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018A mother\u2019s gut instinct\u2019<\/h2>\n
Yemi Hughes, whose 19-year-old son Andre Aderemi was murdered in 2016, has given her support to Elba\u2019s campaign \u2013 and has donated the outfit her son was wearing when he was killed.<\/p>\n
Andre was stabbed multiple times in broad daylight in Croydon, south London.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the BBC\u2019s Radio 4 Today programme, Ms Hughes said that she had dropped her son off \u201cwith a heavy heart\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know why I said those words, I suppose it\u2019s a mother\u2019s gut instinct,\u201d but he looked at me with a great big smile and said, \u2018Don\u2019t worry mum, I\u2019ll be fine, I love you,\u201d and with that I drove off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within 20 minutes, Ms Hughes had received a phone call from a friend\u2019s mother who said someone had been stabbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew she was talking about Andre even though she hadn\u2019t said his name, and then she let out this almighty scream that I\u2019d never forget, she\u2019d obviously seen it was him.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time Ms Hughes got to the scene, ambulances and police were already there. She followed the ambulance to the hospital, where they received the news that her son had died.<\/p>\n
Ms Hughes has spoken of her frustration that knife crime is still a big problem: \u201cOur individual voices have not been heard but yet our pain continues to be felt by families whose children are still being murdered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung people need to feel safe in their communities and underlying causes of youth violence eradicated immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elba is also releasing a single, Knives Down, in support of his campaign.<\/p>\n
The track is about his frustration with the government for what he perceives as their inaction on knife crime.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the BBC\u2019s Radio 4 Today programme, Elba said he wants more funding for groups working with young people.<\/p>\nThe actor says he cannot \u2018stay silent\u2019 on knife crime<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Although best known as an actor, Elba has released music and collaborated with artists such as Jay-Z and James Blake.<\/p>\n
His biggest hit came when he provided guest vocals on Wiley\u2019s hit Boasty in 2019.<\/p>\n
The latest police figures for England and Wales from July 2022 to June 2023 show that around 247 people lost their lives due to knife crime.<\/p>\n
Those numbers do not include teenagers like 15-year-old\u00a0Alfie Lewis\u00a0who was fatally stabbed in Leeds in November 2023 or 16-year-old\u00a0Harry Pitman, who was killed on New Year\u2019s Eve 2023.<\/p>\n
Their deaths will be recorded in the next set of crime figures.<\/p>\n
Elba\u2019s Don\u2019t Stop Your Future campaign is also pleading for the immediate ban of zombie knives and machetes.<\/p>\n
Zombie knives are defined as weapons having \u201ca cutting edge, a serrated edge and images or words suggesting they are used for violence\u201d.<\/p>\n
They were first added to the government\u2019s list of prohibited offensive weapons in 2016 but Labour has said a loophole allowing the sale of the weapons online still exists.<\/p>\n
In August 2023, Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to ban more of the weapons and give police extra powers to seize machetes and zombie knives. But it is not clear when the new law will come into force.<\/p>\n
Patrick Green from the Ben Kinsella Trust has said action is needed now: \u201cFour months have passed since we were promised the legislation we so desperately need to ban these weapons, yet the Bill has only just started its agonisingly slow journey through Parliament.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government has demonstrated that when they deem it necessary, parliamentary time can be found to expedite Bills with urgency.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, why, when we know that these knives are being used to take the lives of our children, are they not prioritising a ban with the same urgency?\u201d<\/p>\n
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