Kitchen knives are behind most knife crime

Kitchen knives are the weapon most likely to be used in stabbings it was revealed today, as the government launched a £3m anti-knife-crime advertising campaign.

The hard-hitting ads, which feature uncompromising images, were designed by teenagers and come after a series of stabbings this year. Eleven young people have already suffered fatal knife attacks in London.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said today: “The most common knife involved in these deaths is a knife from the kitchen, and we must have conversations about knife crime with teenagers.”

Stop-and-search operations have been stepped up in the capital over the last fortnight, with 200 weapons seized. They include several 6in carving knives and smaller kitchen knives, along with craft and pen knives.