Four former Home Secretaries have backed the Mirror’s campaign to tackle the violence on Britain’s streets.

Mrs May’s Labour predecessors, Jack Straw, Jacqui Smith, Alan Johnson and David Blunkett, threw their weight behind the campaign and laid the blame for the rise in violence at police cuts presided over by the Prime Minister.

David Blunkett, who served as Home Secretary under Tony Blair from 2001-2004, said: “I commend the Mirror for their campaign.

“On my last day as Home Secretary, I convened a roundtable on knife crime.

“We were endeavouring to build on the success of the campaign to reduce death and injury from gun crime and realised 14 years ago that knives would be the next big threat."

His predecessor Jack Straw said: “I strongly support the Daily Mirror’s campaign, there is no question that cuts in police numbers, alongside chaos in the probation and prison services have made the chances knife criminals getting away with their crimes much higher and the chances of them being meaningfully reformed much lower.

“The major responsibility for this lies with Theresa May , she presided over cuts in police and the weakening in stop and search.”

End the knife epidemic – The Mirror’s demands

Police
We need more police and support officers. Police numbers have been cut by 20,000 under the Tories.
There is an urgent need for more officers on the beat with beefed up powers to tackle the rise in knife crime.
We should look at tougher sentences for selling and carrying blades.

Reverse the cuts to youth services
Since 2011 there has been a 44% cut to youth services. This has seen youth clubs and leisure facilities closed across the country.
Children’s mental health services and the number of youth and social workers have also been cut.
Scotland halted the rise in knife crime by giving young people help with education, training and housing.

Schools
Every secondary school should hold knife crime workshops to teach young people about the danger of carrying offensive weapons.
Young people should hear from relatives of knife-crime victims. Pupils should be taught about the dangers of social media and given advice on how to tackle peer pressure.
There should be a dedicated police officer for every secondary school.

Tackle the problems behind the epidemic
Children excluded from school are twice as likely to carry a knife. Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) have become “finishing schools” for gangs. At the same time young people are being caught up in wars between rival drug cartels.
We need to improve PRUs and tackle Britain’s drug crisis.

Knife crime tsar
There should be a single person responsible for co-ordinating the response to knife crime.
They should work with the police, schools and councils. Funds should be directed at the areas which need the most help.

Alan Johnson, who held the role of Home Secretary directly before Mrs May, said: “Theresa May’s statement yesterday was outrageous – of course, cuts to police numbers are behind the rise in violence.

“Only by reversing the cuts to our police can get back to the level of proper community policing which will help solve this crisis.”

Jacqui Smith, who was Labour Home Secretary from 2007-2009, said: “This is a crisis which needs the sensible proposals in this campaign.

“Enough police with the right powers are crucial, but we also need to get in early with communities and young people through education and youth support.

“There needs to be an unrelenting focus on bringing everything together to tackle this tragedy.”

The Mirror’s campaign makes five demands – more police on our streets with greater powers, reversing cuts to our youth services, boosting awareness of knife crime in schools, reforming pupil reform units and introducing a dedicated knife crime tsar to head-up the fight back.

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