Reports of the recent rise of violent crime in London have been deeply concerning.

There needs to urgent action to ensure the right measures are in place to stop these crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Our police force needs the necessary resources to carry out preventative work in communities and to catch those who commit these appalling crimes. This government has imposed £1bn of cuts on the Met Police resulting in the loss of over 21,000 officers. London faces a further £400 million of police service cuts. I welcome the additional funding from the Mayor of London to policing and youth services but national leadership is also required by the prime minister.

Too many lives have been cut short because of knife and gun crime. It is heart breaking that here in Tower Hamlets, there have been a number of fatalities. Our priority must be to put a stop to this by tackling the root causes of these crimes. That requires the government to invest in our police and youth services.