London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Primary school boy, aged 7, took knife to London class

Primary school boy, aged 7, took knife to London class

Special Evening Standard investigation reveals child ‘wanted to stab another boy’
A seven-year-old boy took a knife into his London primary school last month because he said he “wanted to stab another boy at an after-school club”, an Evening Standard special investigation can reveal.

Teachers became aware of the boy brandishing a large kitchen knife at his school in Croydon and confiscated it — and the headteacher called in the frontline charity Lives Not Knives to give the seven-year-old one-to-one mentoring.

Eliza Rebeiro, founder of Lives Not Knives, which provides workshops and assemblies in schools, said: “The sad thing about this incident is that it is no longer surprising to us. I get calls from two or three headteachers a month saying they have had ‘a massive incident involving a knife’ in their school and asking for our help with children as young as year three, aged seven or eight.

“Our schools pilot programme is funded by the Home Office’s youth endowment fund but it was only meant to be for 10-14 year-olds. We have had to go back to the funder and agree new terms because headteachers say they want us to work with their seven to nine-year-olds. How do you talk to children that young about knives? You want kids to have a childhood, but it’s getting younger and younger and that means by the time they get to early teens they can already be desensitised. It needs somebody from the top — in the Mayor’s office and the Home Office — to get a grip.”

Three years since the Evening Standard campaigned for Sadiq Khan to adopt a “new way” to tackle serious youth violence, London is once again engulfed in a spiralling crimewave. There have been 22 teenage killings in London already this year, including 20 fatal stabbings, putting the capital on course to surpass its worst ever total of 29 deaths in 2008.

Our call to set up a violence reduction unit that was independent and apolitical — based on the successful Glasgow model and as recommended by the youth violence commission — was rebuffed by the Mayor. City Hall rejected Glasgow’s “trauma-informed” model that sought to tackle the underlying causes of knife crime in favour of a narrow police-led enforcement approach and blamed the Government’s “lack of funding”.

But two months later, Mr Khan did a U-turn, announcing his new unit, which commenced operations in March 2019. Yet, with Mr Khan chairing meetings and the former Labour leader of Lambeth, Lib Peck, appointed as its new director, the violence reduction unit has not been politically or operationally independent — and critics say it has not held the Mayor to account.

Now, with London opening up and the holidays heralding a worrying peak time for youth violence, we ask: Is London’s violence reduction unit working? Why is knife crime rising again?
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×