Our children deserve to feel safe in Leeds - we need to do more to stop knife crime

Children at St Joseph’s Street Catholic School, Pudsey, were kept indoors following a report of a man carrying a machete and behaving in a threatening manner in the street outside. 

In a message sent to parents, seen by the Yorkshire Evening Post, staff confirmed they had immediately triggered lockdown procedures when they were informed about the incident. 

Staff took swift action and every precaution to make sure the children were safe. And thankfully, police have told us that no one was injured and a man was swiftly arrested.

But the incident once again calls into focus the problem we have with knives in this country. Lockdowns used to be something we heard of in America, but the Government now provides a lockdown template for all schools. 

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Students in Ammanford, Wales, were locked in their classrooms for about four hours last month after three people were injured in a school stabbing. Just this week, a 14-year-old schoolboy lost his life after being injured in a sword attack in London, and here in Leeds a 15-year-old boy is standing trial for the murder of Alfie Lewis in Horsforth. 

Knives are not a new issue, as bereaved parents in Leeds know all too well. Campaigner Sarah Lloyd, whose 17-year-old son Kieran Butterworth was fatally stabbed in Harehills in 2013, has long been calling for more work across Leeds and beyond.

I spoke to her as part of our Saving Lives After Lockdown campaign in 2021, where we called for more to be done to stop a spike in knife crime post-lockdown. 

That work is still desperately needed. There is no quick fix here, campaigners have told us there needs to be a joint-up approach from teachers, police and local authorities to find solutions.

But the people of Leeds deserve better. And our children deserve to feel safe in the city.