Contributor To Macpherson Report: Enquiry Into Knife Crime Would Be Welcomed

24 February 2019, 18:09 | Updated: 24 February 2019, 18:14

One of the original contributors to the Macpherson report which labelled the Metropolitan Police force as 'institutionally racist' says that more needs to be done to tackle the wider parts of racism.

Weyman Bennett said that sorting youth services and access to mental health will help to solve issues around racism and knife crime.

Speaking to Ian Payne, the Macpherson contributor said that an inquiry into the knife crime would be welcomed.

"If we want to cut knife crime, we have to look as we did under the Macpherson Inquiry," he said.

"People didn't want to listen at the time.

"The family of Stephen Lawrence had to fight for that, and I think we should respect the findings but we need to move on because racism still exists and we need to look at some of the wider parts on how they're connected to each other.

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Mr Bennet said: "If we did an inquiry into the knife crime, the things I've mentioned previously; cutting mental health services, youth services, and a real cut in young people's living standards has contributed to a catastrophic affect on people's lives.

"I'd love a public enquiry into that because too much is blamed on young people simply surviving on themselves."

The Macpherson Report was published 20 years ago after the murder of Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager who was stabbed in a racist attack in south-east London.

The report found that the Metropolitan Police was 'institutionally racist' and that the force needed to re-establish trust with minority ethnic communities.