Seema Malhotra MP, Member of Parliament for Feltham and Heston, has hosted the first in a series of summits on knife crime and community safety last week with representatives from the local council, community groups, schools, the local police and the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit.

The summit follows the recent tragic killing of 19-year-old Tyler Donnelly in Hanworth Park, as well as new data that shows a 24% rise in knife crime in Hounslow over the last year and extensive community work in recent years on antisocial behaviour. The workshop was organised to share experience and insight, and to build a joined-up response to the challenges we face.

Malhotra said: “Our whole community has been shocked and devastated by the tragedy of another young life lost to knife crime. We know that there are ongoing concerns from schools and families about the safety of some of our young people.

I am grateful to those who attended the summit on knife crime and community safety and contributed to a hugely valuable discussion, including Lib Peck, Director of the Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit, and her team. Their insights gave us the opportunity to learn from other areas and share best practice and help with local challenges we are facing.

It is vital that we see greater investment and more services to support our young people, including those at risk at risk of being drawn into crime. Feedback from the community will contribute to my work in Parliament and Labour’s plan for a national network of Young Futures hubs.

We will be holding further events in the community over the next few months – if you would like to be involved, please do get in touch.”