David Lammy Brands #KnifeFree Chicken Box Campaign "Insane"

15 August 2019, 15:26

After the Home Office announced a campaign which will see more than 300,000 chicken boxes carrying anti-knife messages distributed, Labour MP David Lammy branded the initiative as "insane."

David Lammy was talking after more than 321,000 chicken boxes that feature the Home Office #knifefree campaign have been distributed to over 210 outlets in England and Wales.

He said here we are as 86 young people have died as a result of knife crime in the capital, it is "very very depressing news."

Introducing the debate, the Labour MP asked if they would make "any difference at all."

Surprisingly, Mr Lammy, who sits on the government's Serious Violence Taskforce, said nobody told him about the campaign before he saw it on social media.

He said his instant reaction was "this is insane, is this a joke?" The MP wondered if the government really thought they were going to reach young people, and persuade them not to pick up a knife on the "basis of a few words under a chicken box."

Asking "why have we chosen chicken," he said is this really serious, or is it an assumption that "black kids eat chicken, and that's why we're doing it."

Revealing there was some evidence that gangs are more likely to congregate in McDonalds, because of the free WiFi.

Exploring the subject, David pondered why the money was not being spent on other things.

He asked why signs weren't put up in the pubs which are used on a Friday night by middle class cocaine users, citing the government and the leader of the National Crime Agency he said that was the thing "that's driving knife crime."

Branding the campaign as "crass" and "offensive" and "madness" he said he thought it will have been thought up by some "bright spark sitting in the basement of the Home Office" who thought they could "reach black kids because they eat chicken."

The Tottenham MP said he couldn't believe this "stupid, ridiculous plan," in light of 86 deaths in London this year.