Southport attack survivor campaigning for round-ended kitchen knives

The yoga teacher who survived the Southport attack is leading a campaign to move to round-ended kitchen knives.

Leanne Lucas launched Let’s Be Blunt to coincide with a national knife crime awareness week, during which the Government has also announced a new knife amnesty taking 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.”

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"Open our eyes"

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.”

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.

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.

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Amnesty van

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.”