The Northern Echo is today repeating our call for the Prime Minister to pledge urgent action on knife crime and publishing an open letter from two grieving mothers who ask Liz Truss to “look in our eyes and hear our voices so you know the heartache and devastation".
On Monday, our front page showed their faces and special reports detailed their desperate plea for Liz Truss to help stop young people from being stabbed on our streets.
Read more: Jack Woodley's mum still visits his grave every night
It marked the first anniversary of the death of 18-year-old Jack Woodley who died the day after he was attacked by ten youths as he left a fun fair.
The fatal knife wound inflicted during the melee was delivered by a 15-year-old boy now serving a life sentence for murder.
Jack’s mother, Zoey McGill, from Newton Aycliffe, and Tanya Brown, whose son Connor, also 18, died after he was stabbed a night out in Sunderland, are the women whose calls have been ignored.
Last week, we contacted the Downing Street press office and explained how both mothers are campaigning for action on knife crime and would like to meet with the Prime Minister.
We also contacted the Home Office and did receive a generic response from the Government, including information about Knife Crime Prevention Orders, which are being trialled by the Metropolitan Police and funding for ‘violence reduction units’.
We made it clear to Downing Street The Northern Echo was backing the women in their campaign and would be raising the issue with a front page call directly aimed at Ms Truss on Monday.
A press officer said she would not be commenting.
She said the women could write to Ms Truss through the Downing Street ‘correspondence unit’.
When asked if the same applied to editor, she replied: “That is correct’.
She said: “We wouldn’t have anything further to add to the response as the Home Office has set out, if the group would like to write to the PM, they can do that in the usual way via the correspondence unit.”
The Northern Echo has taken that advice.
Today, we are publishing an open letter from the women directly to Ms Truss, who despite her current political woes, at the time of going to press, is still the leader of the country.
In it, they say: "We are the mothers of murdered sons and would like to meet to help you understand the reality of knife crime on our streets and in our schools so lives can be saved.
"Our precious boys were killed in the prime of their youth when they should have decades of life ahead of them.
"We want you to look in our eyes and hear our voices so you know the heartache and devastation knife crime creates.
"We do not want other parents to endure the heartache we live with every single day.
"Ours is a nightmare from which we can never wake.
"Please help us prevent more young people needlessly losing their lives. Our children deserve a future."
This letter will be emailed to her office along with a printed copy and issues of The Northern Echo featuring reports on the region’s tragic victims of knife, including the most recent, 14-year-old Tomasz Oleszak from Gateshead.
Gavin Foster, Editor of The Northern Echo, said: “We have approached the Office of the Prime Minister several times now for a response on behalf of these grieving mums and we have been fobbed off repeatedly to the Home Office.
“We understand there are clearly some serious things the PM is dealing with as she fights for survival and addresses the nation’s finances, but the needless loss of lives in such tragic circumstances should surely be a priority for the leader of our country.
“Hopefully this letter will force Liz Truss to step up to the plate and take action to address this national emergency and support the work of these mothers to make sure no more families across the country lose their children in such devastating circumstances.”
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Read next:
- Powerful video shows County Durham mum singing to her murdered son on death bed
- Mum of murdered Aycliffe teen shares her feelings as Houghton Feast returns
- Aycliffe mum of Jack Woodley is 'heartbroken' after Tomasz Oleszak stabbing
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