Tag: Downing Street

Knife Crime: Serena Wiebe’s story

Serena Wiebe is a campaigner, and boxing coach and mentor at Empire Fighting Chance. On Monday 9 September, she attended the first annual Knife Crime Summit at Downing Street:

Knife crime has impacted me in ways I can’t explain. It’s forced me to grow up and deal with situations I shouldn’t have had to deal with at such a young age.

I’m 20 now, but I’ve been losing friends constantly since I was 17. When I hear someone has been stabbed, I think: oh my god, is it someone in my family? Is it one of my friends?

Imagine you losing your child or your friend to a knife, and how damaging that is. Imagine not being able to see them again because their life has been taken from them by someone else. That has become my reality, it’s what I am used to now. 

I originally started working with Empire Fighting Chance because my brother took his own life. We’re a charity which uses non-contact boxing to inspire young people to reach their full potential, and my journey with them started because I wanted to help young people who were in the same situation as him, and me.  

Over time, I began losing more and more people in my life to knife crime. But the trigger for me was losing Eddie, one of my best friends growing up.  

Eddie King Muthemba Kinuthia and I had been friends since we were three years old. We were always together. We went to the same nursery and primary school. For a while we went to the same secondary school. As we got older, we drifted slightly, but the love was still there.  

He was a really kind person; everyone in our community knew him, and they knew him for the right things. Ever since he died, so many people he knew have tried to honour him in some way, because he was such an important person to so many, and such a good role model.  

To have to speak about him in the past tense is crazy. I still can’t believe that he’s gone.

We’re still seeking justice for Eddie, but after losing him I thought, okay I need to do something. This is getting out of hand. I don’t want to see another person I love die.  

Since then, I have continued to work with Empire and deliver boxing lessons for free every week to young men who may be involved in knife crime, drug dealing, or any situation that could lead to those things happening.  

I work with various organisations which enable me to speak with young people about their experiences with the system and crime and what they would like to change, and I am starting my own youth group, where we come together every fortnight and talk about what we want to change, which I hope can grow and develop over time.  

I believe we’re not hearing from young people enough.  

We need to be inviting young people to events like today, to places like Downing Street, so they know that their voices are heard. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have been given, but we need to give more young people the platform to share their views.  

Attending events like the Knife Crime Summit will help – even being invited has probably changed my life. If I look back to five years ago, I could have gone down a very different path where I was involved in knife crime.  

A lot of the young people I work with ask me: “How did you go from there to where you are today?” 

Just inviting one young person like me here could have a domino effect on other young people. 

I believe it’s important for the right legislation to be in place – that change is good – but we need to focus on immediate action. It’s getting to the point where someone is dying every day.  

In my opinion, it’s also about the little things we can do that don’t cost money. Around that table today there were so many role models – Idris Elba, the Prime Minister, loads of MPs – and it is so important to see them supporting organisations like mine, because it can inspire young people.  

I was a young person who didn’t believe that I could do anything. Then I met Marvin Rees, who was Mayor of Bristol at the time, and Martin Bisp, the Chief Executive of Empire. They are the reason I am here today.  

They showed me that I can come to places like this, I can speak about issues like this, and I can have that domino effect on other young people who feel they don’t have a voice.

Knife Crime: Pooja Kanda’s story

Pooja’s son Ronan was fatally stabbed in 2022. On Monday 9 September, Pooja attended the first annual Knife Crime Summit at Downing Street.

Within seconds, my whole life was shattered.  

I miss talking to him. I miss hugging him, hearing his giggles, his laugh, his loud noise, his cheeky look in his eyes. 

It’s horrifying to know that a beautiful child of yours – a good person, a good human being – has been taken by something so cruel and for no reason. Because they mistook him for somebody else. 

On the evening of 29th June 2022, Ronan went to play snooker with his friend. It was the first time he’d gone out after finishing his GCSEs. It was a treat. 

I was out of the house at a meditation class. My neighbour, who was at the class with me, got a call. I got up, hearing the commotion.  

“What’s happened?” I asked.  

“There’s been a stabbing on our street, we need to get home,” she replied.  

I didn’t know then that it was my own child. You don’t think it can happen to you. 

I remember ringing Ronan, but he wasn’t picking up the phone. That’s not like Ronan – Ronan knows, he knows me, he knows to answer. But he didn’t.

My husband was at home, so I rang him and asked him to go outside to find out what was happening. He told me that Ronan had popped out for five minutes to go to his friend’s house. We both agreed to phone Ronan to tell him to get home as soon as possible. 

My husband rang back crying. 

“It’s Ronan, Pooja. They’re saying it’s an Asian-Indian boy.” 

The perpetrators had stabbed him in his abdomen, 20 centimetres deep with a 20 inch Ninja sword. When he turned around, they stabbed him again with a Ninja sword that went through his heart. The blood was pouring out of his body.

He tried running home, but he collapsed two doors away from his house. 

On my way from class, I remember asking my friend to drive me quicker and I jumped out of the moving car. Running towards the police taped area and begging the police officers to let me through, to let me hold my child. 

Even though the paramedics tried to operate to save him, my Ronan died on the very street he grew up. He didn’t stand a chance. 

An innocent child walking home. Murdered, just like that.

In the court case, we found out how the online sale of these threatening bladed articles played a massive role in my son’s murder. Since then, we have been and will continue fighting for a ban on machetes, zombie knives, Ninja swords and other bladed weapons. There is no need for these deadly knives to be in our society. In the wrong hands they are lethal weapons.  

For each murder that happens, there have been clear failures in our system. Ronan’s murder happened because a Ninja sword was bought using a parent’s credit card with no ID checks. We also hear about the failures within the education system, within the policing system, within online sales and more. Now all these failures are being addressed so we can start correcting them. 

We’re going down the right path. 

If it takes a bit of time, so be it. But we need to understand that this needs to be dealt with from now on.  

I would like to thank Sir Keir Starmer, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Idris Elba and my MP Pat McFadden. These are the people who are passionate about this issue and do want to make a difference. So, thank you to them. 

I feel very grateful to be here, so I can share my child’s story and can fight for him. I feel like there are other people who don’t get heard. 

What happened to Ronan should never have happened. My Ronan was a good, funny, humble, charismatic, intelligent and kind boy. He was every mother’s dream son.  

From his school, a mother approached me to tell me how Ronan stopped their child getting bullied – now that child remembers my child and was heartbroken to learn what had happened.

He was a beautiful person and he was too good for this world. I apologise to him every morning for bringing him into this cruel world and not being able to protect him. So, this is my way of doing something for him. 

Ronan’s Law will be a strong move and bring, I hope, much-needed change. Banning these weapons should be the basic start to combatting knife crime. 

In my son’s memory, I have a tattoo on my arm of his heartbeat – the words underneath say: ‘Mom is proud of you, Ronan’ and his name is in his own writing. His mantra was to make me proud.  

I’d give my life today for Ronan, if I could.

I wish I gave my heart to him to save him. Every child deserves to grow up safely and I wish my son had this opportunity.

I am the proud mother of Ronan Kanda.  

I’M JUST A MOTHER FIGHTING FOR WHAT’S RIGHT.

PM hosts Coronation lunch for community heroes and Ukrainians forced to flee their homes

Community heroes, Ukrainian families and youth groups gathered in Downing Street yesterday for a special Coronation lunch

  • Lunch was held in Downing Street with food from across the UK
  • Community heroes, Ukrainians forced to flee their homes and youth groups attended
  • Over 50,000 Coronation Big Lunches were held in the UK and across the globe

Community heroes, Ukrainian families and youth groups gathered in Downing Street yesterday for a special Coronation lunch hosted by the Prime Minister and Mrs Murty.

The event is taking place as part of The Big Lunch, a nationwide initiative to bring neighbours and communities together to celebrate the Coronation.

Over 50,000 Big Lunch street parties took place in the UK and in countries across the globe.

Downing Street was adorned with bunting featuring the official Coronation emblem and the Union Flag. Crockery will be donated by Emma Bridgewater – the award-winning ceramics company based in Stroke-on-Trent – including a limited edition King Charles III teapot.

Recipients of the Points of Light Award – volunteers that have made an outstanding contribution to their community – attended the event.

They include Zoe and Andy Clark-Coates who set up Saying Goodbye a charity that supports thousands of people who have lost a child during pregnancy, at birth or infancy – and Navjot Sawhney whose hand-cranked washing machine is benefitting over 1,000 families without access to an electric machine in underdeveloped countries or refugee camps.

Also joining was Laura Ashurst from Stokesley in North Yorkshire. A three-time breast cancer survivor, Laura has campaigned for fifteen years to improve the lives of the 35,000 women across the UK with secondary breast cancer.

Attendees enjoyed food sourced from across the UK, including Loch Duart salmon from Sutherland in North West Scotland and soda farl from Northern Ireland.

Beef came from Gloucestershire in South West England and ice cream has been sourced from Chilly Cow, a company based in Ruthin, Wales.

Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war on Ukraine and their UK-based sponsors also joined the event. They included Olga Breslavska who travelled to the UK as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme and is currently studying an intensive English course. Caroline Quill – a Homes for Ukraine sponsor – has been instrumental in matching 250 families across East Sussex and Kent and will also join the lunch.

Young people from organisations such as UK Youth and the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs also marked the occasion.

The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “Come rain or shine, thousands of friends and neighbours are coming together this weekend to put up the bunting, pour the tea and cut the cake at street parties and community events across the UK.

“I am proud to welcome Ukrainians forced to flee their homes and some incredible community heroes to Downing Street for our very own Coronation lunch to celebrate this historic moment.

“In England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland – and across our Overseas Territories and the wider Commonwealth – people are marking this momentous occasion in the spirit of unity and hope for the future”.

Cummings row: Johnson tries to move on

The UK Government is desperately trying to draw a line under the Dominic Cummings furore this morning with a united message of ‘time to move on’, perhaps a message devised by the PM’s key special adviser himself.

Public anger is unlikely to dissipate following Mr Cummings unprecedented ‘je ne regrette rien’ press conference from the gardens of 10 Downing Street yesterday, however, and Cummings fate will now depend on Tory backbenchers, whose email inboxes will be overflowing with messages from constituents this morning.

While the cabinet has clearly adopted a united front to support Dominic Cummings, pressure from back bench MPs may yet see him removed from his post – particularly if new revelations are unearthed.

In ‘time to move on’ mode, Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday outlined plans to reopen shops in England.

Thousands of high street shops, department stores and shopping centres across England are set to reopen next month once they are COVID-19 secure and can show customers will be kept safe, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed.

The Prime Minister set out:

  • Outdoor markets and car showrooms in England will be able to reopen from 1 June, as soon as they are able to meet the COVID-19 secure guidelines to protect shoppers and workers. As with garden centres, the risk of transmission of the virus is lower in these outdoor and more open spaces. Car showrooms often have significant outdoor space and it is generally easier to apply social distancing.
  • All other non-essential retail including shops selling clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, books, and electronics, plus tailors, auction houses, photography studios, and indoor markets, will be expected to be able to reopen from 15 June if the Government’s five tests are met and they follow the COVID-19 secure guidelines, giving them three weeks to prepare.

Shops like supermarkets and pharmacies have been trading responsibly throughout the pandemic. Building on this and in line with the Government’s roadmap, reopening non-essential retail is the next step towards restoring people’s livelihoods, restarting the UK’s economy, and ensuring vital public services like the NHS continue to be funded.

Businesses will only be able to open from these dates once they have completed a risk assessment, in consultation with trade union representatives or workers, and are confident they are managing the risks. They must have taken the necessary steps to become COVID-19 secure in line with the current Health and Safety legislation.

The UK government is taking action to help English businesses re-open and protect their staff and customers, including:

Publishing updated COVID-secure guidelines for people who work in or run shops, branches, and stores, after consultation with businesses, union leaders, Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive.

Working with local authorities to continue to carry out spot checks and follow up on concerns by members of the public.

The updated guidance takes into account the best practice demonstrated by the many retailers which have been allowed to remain open and have applied social distancing measures in store.

Measures that shops should consider include placing a poster in their windows to demonstrate awareness of the guidance and commitment to safety measures, storing returned items for 72 hours before putting them back out on the shop floor, placing protective coverings on large items touched by the public such as beds or sofas, and frequent cleaning of objects and surfaces that are touched regularly, including self-checkouts, trolleys, coffee machines and betting terminals, for example.

The vast majority of businesses will want to do everything possible to protect their staff and customers, but tough powers are in place to enforce action if they don’t, including fines and jail sentences of up to two years.

As per the roadmap, hairdressers, nail bars and beauty salons, and the hospitality sector, remain closed, because the risk of transmission in these environments is higher where long periods of person to person contact is required.

SCOTLAND, Wales and Northern Ireland will all announce their own plans. First Minister will outline more details of Scotland’s routemap to looen lockdown on Thursday.

Yesterday’s usual coronavirus daily press briefing was delayed while Dominic Cummings made his statement and was grilled by the nation’s press, but Prime Minister later led the press conference himself:

Good evening and welcome to the Number Ten Coronavirus Press Conference

Before I turn to this evening’s announcements, I want to update you on the latest data

  • 3,532,634 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including 73,726 tests carried out yesterday;
  • 261,184 people have tested positive, that’s an increase of 1,625 cases since yesterday;
  • 8,834 people are in hospital with COVID-19 in the UK, down (12%) from 10,092 this time last week;

And sadly, of those who tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 36,914 have now died. That’s an increase of 121 fatalities since yesterday. This new figure includes deaths in all settings not just in hospitals.

And once again my deepest condolences go out to all those who have lost their loved ones before their time. We must not, and will not, forget them.

Two weeks ago, I set out our road map for the next phase of our fight against Covid 19

It is a cautious plan, informed by the evidence about what is safe, and conditional upon our continued progress against the virus.

And we are making progress. Thanks to this country’s collective efforts, the key indicators are heading in the right direction. The daily number of deaths is down, the number of new cases is down, our survey evidence suggests the infection rate is falling, and the R has not risen above one.

So just over 2 weeks ago, we moved to step 1 of our plan, encouraging those who are unable to work from home to go back to work, with new guidelines setting out how workplaces can be made COVID-secure.

At the same time, we allowed people to spend more time outdoors and to meet one member of another household outside, provided they remain 2 metres apart.

I also said we would be able to move to step 2 of our plan no earlier than Monday 1 June – a week today.

We will set out our formal assessment of the 5 tests that we set for adjusting the lockdown later this week, as part of the 3 weekly-review we are legally required to undertake by Thursday.

But because of the progress we are making, I can, with confidence, put the British people on notice of the changes we intend to introduce as we move into step 2.

And I think it is important to give that notice, so that people have sufficient time to adjust and get ready before those changes come into effect.

Yesterday I set out our intention to begin reopening nurseries and particular years in primary schools, reception, year 1, year 6, from 1 June, followed by some contact for those secondary school pupils with exams next year from 15 June. Some contact for years 10 and 12 from 15 June with their teachers.

This announcement has given schools, teachers and parents clarity about our intentions, enabling them to prepare in earnest. The Department for Education is now engaging with teaching unions, councils and school leaders to help schools get ready.

Today, I want to give the retail sector notice of our intentions to reopen shops, so they too can get ready.

So I can announce that it is our intention to allow outdoor markets to reopen from June 1, subject to all premises being made COVID-secure, as well as car showrooms, which often have significant outdoor space and where it is generally easier to apply social distancing.

We know that the transmission of the virus is lower outdoors and that it is easier to follow Covid Secure guidelines in open spaces. That means we can also allow outdoor markets to reopen in a safe way that does not risk causing a second wave of the virus.

Then, from 15 June, we intend to allow all other non-essential retail, ranging from department stores to small, independent shops, to reopen. Again, this change will be contingent upon progress against the 5 tests and will only be permitted for those retail premises which are COVID-secure.

Today we are publishing new guidance for the retail sector detailing the measures they should take to meet the necessary social distancing and hygiene standards. Shops now have the time to implement this guidance before they reopen. This will ensure there can be no doubt about what steps they should take.

While the vast majority of businesses will want to do everything possible to protect their staff and customers, I should add that we will, of course, have the powers we need to enforce compliance where that is required.

I want people to be confident they can shop safely, provided they follow the social distancing rules for all premises.

The food retail sector has already responded fantastically well, enabling supermarkets to be kept open in a safe way – and we will learn lessons from that experience as we allow other retail to open.

These are careful but deliberate steps on the road to rebuilding our country.

And we can only take these steps thanks to what we have so far achieved together.

We will only be successful if we all remember the basics – so wash your hands, keep social distance, and isolate if you have symptoms – and get a test.

I will now hand over to Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director of Public Health England, to take us through today’s slides.

BREAKING NEWS: Scottish Office minister Douglas Ross MP has resigned this morning over the Cummings affair.