‘My heart goes out to them’ - that was the message from the prime minister to grieving families throughout the North East who have seen their loved ones tragically killed by knife crime. 

Rishi Sunak was asked by The Northern Echo what message he had to the dozens of distraught families who have seen their beloved sons and daughters killed in the past few years and what the government was doing to tackle knife crime.

Grieving families and senior youth workers have warned knife crime is directly related to anti-social behaviour, now worryingly endemic across the North East.

They say there is a direct correlation between the rise in trouble caused by teenagers and the reduction in youth service budgets following swingeing cuts in local authority funding from central Government.

It comes after the tragic death of 15-year-old Holly Newton, who died following a stabbing in Hexham, Northumberland on Friday. 

Mr Sunak said: “My heart goes out to them, it’s tragic. 

“I have two young kids and I can’t imagine one of my kids or any young person losing their life in that way, it’s awful.”

The prime minister said the recruitment of more police officers, increased stop and search powers and better safety for women and girls are a priority. 

“There will be more police officers on the streets of the north east,” he said. 

“It’s also about giving the police the powers they need, so when it comes to knife crime; stop and search is important. 

“In particular we need to do a better job of tackling violence against women and girls. For far too long too many women and girls have not felt as safe. We’ve got to do a better job of that.”

Campaigners have called on the prime minister to address the root causes and cultural factors behind kids carrying knives to stop more families being torn apart by fatal stabbings on the streets of the region.

There are also calls for strict preventative measures that could stop knife attacks and more severe punishments for those that go out armed with a blade.

The Northern Echo: In November, The Northern Echo published an open letter to the Prime Minister’s office, signed by Zoey McGill and Tanya Brown, asking for a meeting so they could explain the cruel, but preventable, circumstances in which their beloved boys diedIn November, The Northern Echo published an open letter to the Prime Minister’s office, signed by Zoey McGill and Tanya Brown, asking for a meeting so they could explain the cruel, but preventable, circumstances in which their beloved boys died (Image: The Northern Echo)

Speaking at an event in Darlington on Monday morning, Mr Sunak said increased community investment for better street lighting and CCTV will make communities safer places to live. He vowed to improve the government’s response to tackling rape, sexual abuse and domestic abuse, which he said the government has failed to do. 

He added: “All these things that we didn’t tackle properly in the past we’re in the process of improving and you should absolutely hold me to account on that. 

“I want all of you to walk around and feel safe, and when things don’t go right justice happens and it happens quickly. I think we are making progress, and things are moving in the right direction, but the tragedy that you talked about showed us that we’vew got work to do.”