A Leeds MP has demanded change in the House Of Commons this week following a series of knife-related attacks across the city. Hilary Benn, MP for Leeds Central made a passionate speech during a Commons debate yesterday, asking why people are still legally allowed to have access to dangerous weapons.
There have been a number of worrying incidents in Leeds over the past few months, leaving residents concerned. In June of this year, a man was stabbed after confronting youths in Trentham Park for being too loud.
In July, West Yorkshire Police were given tough new powers in Beeston after a machete fight between two gangs and in Harehills in August, more powers were put in place following another masked machete brawl.
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Hilary Benn asked the Minister Of State for Crime and Policing, Tom Pursglove what he would do to stop these horrific attacks. Benn spoke to members, saying: "Last February, a constituent of mine, a young man was attacked in the street by a man wielding a machete.
“Since then there have been a number of further incidents, including last month, on the streets of Leeds where a video shows two gangs squaring up to each other, holding these weapons, why on earth is it still legal for anyone over the age of 18 to go into a shop and buy a machete?"
Pursglove responded saying that over the last three years, over 70,000 weapons had been taken off the UK streets and a review is ongoing to continue the retaliation.
He said: "Well I’m very grateful to him for his question and I think it’s important to note that since 2019 we have seen 72,000 weapons taken off our streets but we cannot be complacent on this and that’s why as ministers we are looking at this issue of serious weapons with a serious weapons review. I will want to see the conclusions of that as soon as possible.
“But he can be absolutely assured that our drive and determination will be to get these weapons off our streets as quickly as possible, it is not acceptable to have any life lost to crime in this way.”
In areas such as Beeston and Harehills, police have increased their search powers, introducing Section 60. Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 allows the police to search people or vehicles for offensive weapons or dangerous instruments without them having to have their usual grounds to suspect each person searched. It is hoped this will "deter and detect" the carrying of weapons.
Senior officers in Leeds said violent behaviour will not be tolerated and they understand the concerns across communities. People have been left worried due to the crimes with some longtime residents saying the violence is increasing.
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