Angela Rayner has backed The Northern Echo’s calls for knife crime to be added to the national curriculum.

The second meeting of the Northern Echo’s North East Knife Crime Taskforce called on the Government to take action to educate our children.

The Deputy Labour Leader believes that education will be a key part of the solution to reduce such crimes.

The recommendation from the taskforce is that headteachers should allow campaigning relatives of victims into schools to share their experiences with the youngsters.

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Ms Rayner said: “There’s a number of things that need to happen and I know that Keir and Yvette was here not long ago, talking to some of the victims of knife crime.

“It’s important to hear the devastation that it has on families and on the communities.

“You don’t just tackle it with one issue, we put a significant amount of emphasis on neighbourhood policing.

“We had provision for youth services. There are a number of leavers that you need to pull to make young people feel safe.

“Young people that carry knives are more likely to be injured and fatally injured in a stabbing so carrying a knife does not make you safe.

“We have to get to the reason why young people are going down that path now.

“That’s about education, it’s about support, it’s about creating a better future for them and it is also about neighbourhood policing so we know what is happening on the ground.

“The Government have completely failed on that strategy, if you are not able to deliver a holistic strategy then I don’t think you will really tackle it.

“You can’t just police it or just educate it, there are a number of leavers that you have to take in order to understand why we are where we are and how to change that pathway.

“Young people are incredibly intelligent and they know when they are being left behind and when they are being spun a yarn.

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The North East Knife Crime Taskforce was formed in response to a shocking series of murders in recent years.

The forum allows different groups to come together to meet regularly and discuss future policy directions.

Ms Rayner said: "We have to give the young people hope for their future.

“They need to be able to see how they make a success of their lives.

“At the moment far too many young people don’t feel that they have that opportunity.”