Charity set up in memory of murdered brother of ex-Eastender star backs Express & Star campaign

Patrick Vernon, chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust, called on shops to take responsibility over rising knife crime levels.

The trust was set up by Ben's sister, former Eastenders actress Brooke Kinsella, after he was murdered in London 10 years ago.

Mr Vernon said: "We back the Express & Star campaign for a change in law over the sale knives.

"The work done by the newspaper raises concerns over how easy it is to buy knives.

"It showed some people are not taking the issue seriously enough.

"The fact you can get knives like this sends out the wrong message that it is alright to carry knives.

"We must tighten up on shops and the shops must take action. Retailers must not profit on knife crime."

The Express & Star is calling on the Government to tighten the law on selling knives.

Zombie knives are banned.

But blades not classified as a zombie knife, without words or logos to suggest violence and a serrated edge, can be sold to anyone over 18.

New legislation has been pushed through by the Government has made it illegal to possess a zombie knife, and for knives to be delivered to home addresses.

But Mr Vernon said: "This does not go far enough.

"As exposed, the verification for being over 18 in shops is not strong enough. Anyone concerned should never sell a knife."

Ben Kinsella was murdered on June 29, 2008 while on a night out with friends in Islington to celebrate the end of his GCSEs.

His sister Brooke said: "I think a lot of young people sadly can't see a future for themselves so they don't care about anybody else's future.

"It's not just the life you're taking, it's not one life, it's so many more than that."

The trust has educated 13,000 schoolchildren from the age of 10 to 17 about the dangers of knife crime.

Mr Vernon said it was hoping to expand its work across the country, including working with groups in the West Midlands.

Latest figures reveal there were 1,314 instances of knife and gun possessions in the West Midlands, resulting in a sentence or conviction, from January to March.

This rose from 1,307 from October to December, 1,307 July to September, and 1,274 April to June last year.

The Express & Star campaign comes with a petition which now has more than 5,500 signatures.

Among those to support it are Wolverhampton MPs Pat McFadden, Emma Reynolds and Eleanor Smith.

To sign it, visit www.change.org/p/home-secretary-sajid-javid-ban-the-sale-of-deadly-knives