Watch: Idris Elba backs blunt kitchen knives to stop knife crime
Credit: X/@BBCr4today
Idris Elba has called for kitchen knives to have their ends rounded off to protect victims of the UK's violent gang crisis.
Speaking ahead of the release of his documentary on knife crime that will air on Wednesday evening, the 52-year-old actor said there needed to be 'innovative' solutions amid a surge in knife crime that has pushed it back to near-record levels.
The Luther star said that while the Government's ban on the sale of zombie knives was a positive step in tackling the issue, he also believed ninja swords should be outlawed and suggested kitchen blades have their sharp point removed.
'I do think there are areas of innovation that we can do. Not all kitchen knives need to have a point on them, that sounds like a crazy thing to say. But you can still cut your food without the point on your knife, which is an innovative way to look at it,' he said. 'In a country in crisis, yes, let's look at that.'
Britain's knife crime crisis has seen a total of 507 children treated in English hospitals for knife injuries in the 12 months to April 2024, according to the latest figures analysed by the Youth Endowment Fund.
The number of knife crimes reported by police forces across England and Wales passed 50,000 in the year to June 2024, for only the second time since records began. In London, they hit a record high of 15,859, up 16 per cent on 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics.
A ban on the sale of pointed kitchen knives has been backed by the Church of England, judges, top trauma doctors and psychiatrists, the police and victims as they argue that it would make life-threatening injuries far less likely.
It follows a five-year study in Edinburgh which found that 94 per cent of the sharp instruments used in homicides were kitchen knives.
Axel Rudakubana, the Southport triple killer, used a kitchen knife he bought via Amazon for his murderous attack last July.
Campaigners say sharp knife points were only used historically to pick up food because forks had not been invented and it was a time when they could be carried openly.
Sharp points remain only as an anachronistic hangover from 18th century Britain during which forks became commonplace.
Elba's new documentary sees the British actor spend 12 months exploring the reality of the UK's knife crime crisis.
During the programme, he met with victims' families, police officers and teenage offenders for a deep dive into the problem.
In an effort to tackle the issue, a ban on zombie knives and machetes came into place in England and Wales in September, making it an imprisonable offence to possess, sell, manufacture or transport them.
Elba said it was 'massive step in the right direction', but believed schools could intervene in young people's lives earlier to stop them 'going towards a dark place'.
The actor highlighted disciplinary action like school exclusions as an opportunity for teachers to pay more attention to children in their pre and early teens.
Elba said: 'The big thing that I learned in the room [when he visited Feltham Young Offender Institution for the show] is that they're not big and scary in the way that it's portrayed; gangs, balaclavas, black jackets.
'These were people, young people, still grasping on to their development, it was sad. It just felt like they were just banged up behind there, and no-one cares.
'Of course, they're being looked after there, but it did feel like, 'oh, wow, we just turned our back on them', because we're expecting them to come out of there loved and ready to get back into society. It was really educational for me, and sad.'
Elba backed moves by the Government to crackdown on knife sales. Last weekend ministers announced new measures including a ban on doorstep sales and two-step age verification for online purchases – to prevent under 18s buying knives online.
The actor said tech companies and social media needed to take more responsibility over the issue: 'When it comes to big tech, there needs to be accountability within their own policies, and their policies need to be educated and driven by what society deems is right or wrong.
'It's great that you're a big company, you make a lot of money, got lots of social media followers, that's fantastic. But by the way, we don't like knives, we're not going to tolerate you advertising knives to young people, please.
'We don't like porn, we don't like this, we don't like bully dogs, it can be done in a society, and in my opinion, where democracy leads, it takes a village.'
Ministers are planning new laws to fine tech executives up to £10,000 if they fail to remove content promoting, advertising or allowing the sale of banned knives.
Elba said there were 'indicators of hope' already in the fight against knife crime and praised the under-the-radar intervention schemes that were 'really working'.
The BBC film, Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis, sees Elba meet Sir Keir Starmer, before becoming prime minister, who said that his party would commit to halving knife crime if elected.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
NYC councilmember urges residents to take up arms after robbers tied up Queens family in shocking home invasion
A City Council member from Queens is urging her constituents to arm themselves following a terrifying home invasion in which robbers posing as Amazon drivers tied up a family and snatched thousands of dollars in cash, according to cops. Republican Vickie Paladino offered to help residents in her district — which covers Whitestone, where the ordeal took place — obtain gun permits in light of the break-in Monday morning. 'I want to remind my constituents that New Yorkers have a constitutional right to protect themselves,' Paladino said in a statement. Advertisement 'I urge my constituents to avail themselves of their rights under the Second Amendment; my office is always available to assist constituents with obtaining firearm permits for premises or concealed carry,' she said Tuesday. The conservative pol's call to arms came as the NYPD on Wednesday released surveillance footage of the pair of wanted perps wearing baseball caps, with one of them carrying an Amazon box and the other wearing a bright-yellow vest, walking on the quiet residential block. The masked thieves pushed their way into the home at around 9 a.m., tying up the family living there, including three children, duct-taping their mouths — and then making off with the cash and jewelry, cops said. Advertisement Council Member Vickie Paladino said she would help constituents get gun permits in a post on Facebook. Vickie Palladino / Facebook 'The NYPD has indicated that this was a targeted incident and there is no ongoing threat to the community,' Paladino said. 'Let me be absolutely clear – violence has no place in Whitestone or anywhere in our district.' Neighbors said home invasions were not uncommon in the area — with at least two telling The Post they had recently been robbed. Advertisement A 37-year-old Whitestone resident who declined to give her name said money and jewelry were taken from her house six months ago, but luckily no one was home at the time. 'I don't think it was random. I think people are scoping out the area,' she said. 'This neighborhood has been a little crazy. The same thing that happened to them happened to us.' Another neighbor, a 25-year-old man, said his house had been broken into about six months ago as well. Advertisement Police are still investigating the crime, the suspects have not yet been apprehended. Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock 'When that happened, we got prepared. You gotta protect yourself. All that matters is your life. The bad people, they never get caught,' he told the Post. The 109th precinct, which encompasses Whitestone, has reported 99 robberies so far in 2025. The NYPD is still searching for the suspects in the latest heist. 'The safety of our neighborhoods is my top priority – and I will not sit quietly while violence threatens our neighborhoods,' Paladino said.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The OceanGate Victims' Eerie Last Words Speak Volumes of Their Mindset Before the Vessel's Tragic Implosion
The Titan's story isn't over yet. Netflix's newest investigation documentary Titan: The OceanGate Disaster gives insight to the years and moments leading up to the tragic day where 5 people died on the way to see the wreckage of the Titanic. Netflix's documentary explores the means OceanGate used to skirt through regulations with the Titan submersible and Stockton Rush's obsession to become the next big billionaire. In the film, former OceanGate bookkeeper Bonnie Carl says that Rush 'wanted to be a Jeff Bezos or an Elon Musk. He referred to those guys as big swinging dicks, and he loved that term.' More from StyleCaster Tylenol Murders Suspect James Lewis' Eerie Last Interview Before His Death Included Him Answering 'All the Hard Questions' Are Colt & Kelsey Still Together From Sneaky Links? Where They Are Now After Their Love Triangle With AngeliqueHowever, that journey came at the expense of five lives. Rush, British aviation billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet were all killed in the Titan's implosion on June 18, 2023. According to the US Coast Guard, the Titan's last message to the boat Polar Prince that they were 'dropped two wts,' referring to their weights. After that message, there were no updates from the submersible. Forty minutes after the submersible dived down, the Polar Prince experienced trouble receiving transmissions from the Titan. 'I need better comms from you,' to which the Titan answered 'yes' and said they 'lost system oand [sic] chat settings,' at around 10:15 a.m. Paul-Henri Nargeolet, was believed to be the messenger. The ship later asked, 'status? do you see polar prince on your display?' The Titan wrote back 'yes' and 'all good here.' Tym Catterson, who was OceanGate's contract safety diver and submersible pilot, recounted seeing the victims right before the implosion in a BBC documentary. 'Suleman was close to the last to going in and when he came up I grabbed him by the back of his flotation device and pulled him to make sure he isn't going to go sliding off into the water,' he said. 'I helped him get in I helped him get into the sub and then I said 'have a good dive'.' Rush's wife, Wendy, who was on the support ship, heard a boom. That boom was likely the implosion. The project's development started in 2016 but had major red flags throughout the years. Experts believed that the carbon fiber wasn't up to safety regulations and end caps, made of titanium, were affixed to the hull with glue. There were clear warning signs when the carbon fiber kept popping during subsequent trips. 'I still question it every day: How could he not see this was dangerous?' former Oceangate employee Bonnie Carl says about Rush's ego. 'In my opinion, he clearly wanted fame. Stockton had his mind set. He was going to do this no matter what.' Best of StyleCaster The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
UK soldier accused of raping British woman in Kenya
A UK soldier accused of raping a woman near a controversial British army base in Kenya allegedly attacked a British national, not a Kenyan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed. In a statement the military said the man had been arrested and sent back to the UK following the alleged incident last month near the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (Batuk). The allegation is being investigated by the UK military, which has jurisdiction over the matter, and does not involve Kenyan police. The alleged rape is the latest allegation of misconduct made against British soldiers at Batuk, which is near the town of Nanyuki around 200km (125 miles) north of Kenya's capital, Nairobi. A MoD spokesperson said: "We can confirm the arrest of a British service person in Kenya in relation to a report of a sexual offence. The service person has been repatriated to the UK and the victim is a British adult, not a Kenyan. "The matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the UK Defence Serious Crime Command, in accordance with the Defence Co-operation Agreement between the UK and Kenya and we will not comment further." A UK soldier has previously been accused of murdering a local woman, Agnes Wanjiru, whose body was found dumped in a septic tank in 2012. The UK has said it is co-operating with a Kenyan investigation into her death. The Batuk base was established in 1964 shortly after the East African nation gained independence from the UK. The UK military has an agreement with Kenya under which it can deploy up to six army battalions a year for periods of training at the site. But the British army has faced a string of allegations about the conduct of some UK personnel at the camp. A public inquiry set up by Kenyan MPs last year heard details of alleged mistreatment of local people by British soldiers. The allegations included a reported hit-and-run incident, as well as claims that some British soldiers had got local women pregnant before abandoning them and their children when they returned to the UK. Agnes Wanjiru murder: Kenya family's anger over UK army 'cover-up' Kenya hears 'heartbreaking' claims against UK soldiers Kenyans sue the British army over fire at wildlife sanctuary Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa