£100m cop out Fury at Chancellor for knife crisis

LABOUR slammed the Chancellor as being “completely out of touch” for handing police just £100million to tackle the nation’s knife crime crisis.

Philip Hammond’s boost came as pals of stabbing victim Yousef Makki shared an emotional tribute to the “loving, kind” student on the day of his funeral.

The 17-year-old, of Burnage,

South Manchester, had aspirations of being a heart surgeon – but died in hospital after he was found wounded earlier this month.

His death deepened the political row over police cuts, which Mr Hammond tried to defuse yesterday with £80million from the Treasury and £20million from the Home Office.

But Shadow Chancellor John Mcdonnell said: “I’m angry about it. He doesn’t seem to understand the scale of the problem. It isn’t just policing, it’s also about youth services, support for families, school exclusions. Hammond seemed to be completely out of touch with the real world.”

Police Federation chairman John Apter added: “While the funding is welcome, it is just a short-term fix.”

The number of fatal stabbings in England and Wales is the highest since records started over 70 years ago. There were 285 cases in the year to March 2018.

National Police Chiefs’ Council chair Sara Thornton said of the cash boost: “We know what works to bring down violence and this additional funding will help us increase the number of officers available to carry out targeted patrols in hotspots, increase use of stop and search and disrupt gangs and crime groups.”