Actor and philanthropist, Idris Elba, has launched his “Don’t Stop Your Future” campaign aimed at the UK government to do more to tackle knife crime. Last year, the Home Office pledged to control access to “zombie knives” and machetes. Elba has further highlighted the danger as these types of weapons are easily accessible through online services. As part of the campaign, Parliament Square was filled with small piles of clothes, each of which represents a life lost in 2023 due to knife crime.
A report by Ben Kinsella Trust, a charity that works towards tackling knife crime, has revealed that 282 murders involved a knife or sharp object in Wales and England in 2023 (the highest figure since 1946). The campaign aims to highlight the larger social issues that lead to knife violence among young people, besides only the accessibility of knives.
The Don’t Stop Your Future Campaign urges the government to bring together “Government departments, grassroots organisations, sporting bodies and young people” to resolve the issue. Elba has also released a new track “Knives Down” featuring DB Maz. The music video for the new track features an impassioned Elba rapping to a crowd of on-lookers in the House of Commons. Elba has been joined by Yemi Hughes, who brought with her the clothes her son Andre Aderemi wore when he fell victim to a knife attack at just 19 years old.
Lives Not Knives is another UK Knife Crime initiative. It is a charity that is “youth-led” and focused on delivering education about why knife crime is dangerous. Key for Life focuses on prison reform working with people at risk of going to prison, like young people involved in Knife Crime
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