Latest news with #LetsBeBlunt
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Southport survivor's campaign for 'blunt knives' praised by Nottinghamshire police boss
Nottinghamshire's Police and Crime Commissioner has echoed a Southport survivor's calls for pointed knives to be replaced with blunt ones in an effort to help combat knife crime across the nation. A dance teacher who survived the Southport knife attack, Leanne Lucas, has started a new campaign calling for pointed knives to be replaced by ones with blunt tips after being critically injured during the attack. Axel Rudakubana, 17 at the time of the attack, has been jailed for a minimum of 52 years after he carried out the murder of three young girls- Alice Aguiar, Dot Stancombe and Bebe King, in an event that shook the country. In an interview with Sky News, Leanne, aged 36, said it was the pointed tip of the knife that led to her life-threatening injuries in the attack of July 2024. READ MORE: The 85 NatWest, Lloyds, Halifax and Santander branches to close in June - with 3 in Nottinghamshire READ MORE: 'Nervous and shaking' man parked outside Nottingham takeaway with 'car full of drugs' The message of the Let's Be Blunt Campaign resonated with Nottinghamshire's PCC, Gary Godden, who stated that if blunt knives were to become the norm in UK households, it would have a "huge effect" on the number of knife crime incidents across the country. The campaign calls for a national conversation to be had about the possible transition to blunt knives, as the easy access means that life-threatening incidents such as those in Southport could be repeated, as every household has a four-inch or longer knife readily accessible. PCC Gary Godden said: "I think that knife crime is a specific challenge. Bear in mind that knife crime is generally, those involved or have had an experience with knife crime have been hurt by a knife that is four inches in length; everybody in every single household in the country has a knife that they can get access to, that is four inches long. "The challenge is how we can change perceptions and behaviour and how we approach prevention in a way that actually makes a huge difference. I have some plans in mind that I am not going to discuss today to really challenge this and make sure that Nottinghamshire is a safe place." When asked about his support for the new campaign, the PCC said: "It's really interesting. It's not something that you would have thought of two or three years ago. It's a common-sense approach to a national problem. The reality of carrying a knife is guess what, you are probably going to have it used against you or you will use it against someone else. "The effect of having blunt knives would be huge. If only we could get them into every household in the country, it would be amazing, but that will take time. I think that there are government bans on certain knives coming into place. "There will be a lot of stuff that we need to do, I have my mind set on a lot of things we need to do, that will really challenge this. At the moment, this is our biggest challenge for safety, and making sure people don't pick up knives and use them." This comes after Nottinghamshire Police has recently stepped up their response to knife crime in the city, carrying out a determined campaign to curb the increase in knife-related incidents in Nottingham's city centre, after a series of stabbings in March.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- The Independent
Susanna Reid fights back tears as Southport survivor vows ‘evil will not win' in kitchen knife campaign
Susanna Reid was visibly emotional as Southport attack survivor Leanne Lucas spoke of the impact of the horrific event during her launch of a new "evil will not win" Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were murdered and eight other children and two adults were injured in the attack in July last year, carried out with a knife bought on Amazon while the killer was underage. The yoga teacher, who was critically injured, is leading a "Let's Be Blunt" campaign to move to round-ended kitchen knives. Ms Lucas vowed: "Evil will not win. There has to be something that comes out of this." The campaign will coincide with a national knife crime awareness week, during which the government has also announced a new knife amnesty taking place in July.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- The Independent
Southport attack survivor says UK should ‘swap pointed kitchen knives for rounded ones'
Leanne Lucas, the yoga teacher who survived the Southport attack in July, is leading a campaign to moved to round-ended kitchen knives in the UK. Called 'Let's Be Blunt,' she has launched the initiative to coincide with national knife crime awareness week. The event has also been marked by the Government by the announcement of a new knife amnesty which will take place in July. Ms Lucas said: 'The horrific events in Southport on July 29 2024 changed my life forever. The pain and heartbreak that the families involved have had to endure is unimaginable. 'If I can help to ensure this doesn't happen to another family again, I will. When people ask if there is anything they can do to help me, my answer is clear and comes from the heart: swap your pointed kitchen knives for rounded ones. 'Pointed knives, readily available in most kitchens, pose a very real risk of being tragically used as weapons on our streets. A simple yet effective change, replacing our kitchen knives with rounded ones, can remove this potential for danger. 'If we all make a small change in our homes, together we can play a powerful role in preventing future tragedies before they unfold.' Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were murdered and eight other children and two adults were injured in the attack in Southport in July last year, carried out with a knife bought on Amazon while the killer was underage. The Let's Be Blunt campaign is set to be launched at a parliamentary reception on Wednesday evening. Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain programme on Wednesday, Ms Lucas said: 'I don't understand why I've got a pointed tip knife in my house that somebody could potentially use as a weapon if they would like to. 'I know people say it wouldn't happen to me, my child wouldn't do that. 'We all believed it wouldn't happen to us, but I think we've just got to open our eyes to the real world.' Actor Idris Elba has also called for a move away from pointed kitchen knives, and initial research by forensic scientist Leisa Nichols-Drew with a team at De Montfort University suggests that they may be safer. The researchers found that 10 different rounded knives did not cut everyday clothing such as cotton t-shirts and denim jeans in tests with 1,200 repeated stabbing motions, whereas two pointed blades did. News of the campaign came as the Home Office unveiled plans for knife crime activist Faron Paul to travel across the country in an amnesty van. The campaigner will tour London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester in July to help get rid of dangerous blades. The Home Office is also funding 37 new surrender bins, made by charity Word 4 Weapons, across the same locations where 45% of knife crime in England and Wales takes place. It comes as a ban on ninja swords campaigned for by the family of murdered teenager Ronan Kanda is set to come into force from August 1. It will be illegal to possess, sell, make or import the weapon as part of anti-knife crime measures introduced under Ronan's Law. Ronan's mother Pooja Kanda has campaigned for a law change since the death of her 16-year-old son, who was yards away from his Wolverhampton home when he was murdered with a ninja sword in 2022. Anyone handing in a ninja sword can claim compensation of £5 – the wholesale price of the weapon – if they return it to a designated police station. The new surrender bins have been purpose-built to cater for larger weapons such as ninja swords, and 33 will be placed across London, two in the West Midlands and two in Greater Manchester. Mr Paul's van is also specifically built for the task and will be supported by police officers on the move. The anti-knife crime campaigner and chief executive of FazAmnesty uses social media to raise awareness of the consequences of carrying knives after surviving two life-threatening attacks himself. Mr Paul said: 'The launch of the UK's first-ever amnesty van is a historic moment – not just for FazAmnesty, but for communities across the country. 'In partnership with the Home Office, this van allows us to take our mission directly to the people, giving them a safe, secure, and discreet way to hand in offensive weapons. 'It's more than just a vehicle – it's a symbol of hope, change, and second chances. 'This is about saving lives, protecting our communities, and breaking the cycle of violence.' It will be illegal to have a ninja sword after August 1, and anyone caught with one could face six months in prison, set to increase to two years under plans in the Crime and Policing Bill. Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: 'This Government is taking a different approach to tackling knife crime – one rooted in partnership with those who have first-hand experience of this devastating crime. 'We know that young people involved in crime can have complex pasts and often deep-rooted mistrust in authority, and I truly believe it's this kind of collaboration that will save young lives.'
Sky News
21-05-2025
- Sky News
Southport stabbings survivor launches campaign to end use of traditional kitchen knives
A survivor of the Southport knife attack is calling for the use of blunt-tipped knives in home kitchens, in a campaign she says is "for the girls". In one of her first television interviews since the July 2024 attack, Leanne Lucas, 36, tells Sky News it was the "tip of the knife" that caused injuries that led to her "nearly dying". "I never, ever thought I'd be talking about things like this," Ms Lucas tells Sky's Katerina Vittozzi, "but since what happened in July, I really can't sit still and not say how I feel". Ms Lucas was leading a group of children in a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop when they came under attack by Axel Rudakubana, then aged 17. "What happened before the incident was just pure joy," Ms Lucas remembers. "We were just having so much fun. And for that to be ruined and everyone's life that was involved, to be shattered, is just not acceptable," she says. Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed in the attack. Ten others, including Ms Lucas, were injured. The attacker used a kitchen knife with a 20cm blade, purchased via the online retailer, Amazon. "I don't want this pain and this trauma that any of us have felt, I don't want that to happen to another family," Ms Lucas says. Her new campaign, launched today, is called Let's Be Blunt and aims to "raise social awareness" of safer-tipped knives. "A safer option is to go for curved or blunt-tip knives... that reduces that risk of the kitchen knife being used ever as a weapon," she says. It's an issue about which Ms Lucas feels "passionate". "[I] will not let evil win. I need to know that I'm doing this for the girls, for myself and for future generations," she says. "We don't need to wait for government or the police to tell us what to do," Ms Lucas adds, as she calls on the public to "do an inventory" of their kitchen knives. Since the attack, Ms Lucas says she feels "like I've just had my eyes opened" to how "domestic tools can be weaponised". "I personally feel that knife crime has got out of control," she adds. According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, kitchen knives are the most common type of weapon used in knife homicides. "You normally hear of the zombie knives, machetes, things like that," Ms Lucas says. "They sound dangerous but really, when you look at the figures, the highest figure is the domestic kitchen knife, which we have all got in our kitchen, which we use daily." Ms Lucas says "since the attack in the summer," she has never "cooked with a pointed kitchen knife again" and that using a blunt-tipped knife makes her feel "safer". "Obviously, people can hurt people in many ways," she says. "It's about reducing that opportunity to cause life-damaging, life-threatening injuries that can take people's lives." Reflecting on the personal nature of the campaign, Ms Lucas tells Sky News it was a "privilege" to be a survivor, but that she does not "want to be defined by what happened to us". "My work was for the girls," she says. "My work was for the community... and just creating memories that will last a lifetime... and I don't want this to be part of our memories." Ms Lucas says she hopes Let's Be Blunt will "inspire" other Southport survivors. "If I can show them that there's hope and that real change came from what happened to us… If I can do that, then that's what I'll do."
