Kelly: stabbings not 'sweeping the country'
Updated on 18 March 2007
Cabinet Minister Ruth Kelly has described the latest spate of knife murders as "isolated incidents".
She was speaking following the death in east London of 15-year-old boy Adam Regis, the nephew of retired Olympic athlete John Regis.
Three men were killed in knife attacks in Manchester yesterday, and three days ago 16-year-old Kodjo Yenga was stabbed to death while walking with his girlfriend in west London.
Ms Kelly said the deaths were "tragic" and her thoughts are with the families, but she said similar crimes are not "sweeping the country".
She said: "I wouldn't go from the fact that these incidents, tragic as they are, from that to the fact that this is a problem somehow that is sweeping the country.
"These are still, even though they are more prevalent than we'd like, still relatively isolated incidents which cause extraordinary grief and agony in particular communities.
"We've got again to think about the security response, but also to think about the nature of those communities, how we intervene to tackle the gang culture, how we create resilient communities, and work with families and voluntary organisations to combat that."
