THE Government minister responsible for criminal justice and the courts has backed the Daily Echo's anti-knife campaign.
Harriet Harman said she fully endorsed our campaign to demand an end to the knife violence which brings terror and heartache to communities across Hampshire.
Ms Harman was visiting courts in Southampton.
The former solicitor-general and minister of state for constitutional affairs said the Government was listening.
She said: "With knife and gun crime the important thing is to have the confidence of the community to report what's going on then a really tight system for getting grip on it."
Under the Violent Crime Reduction Act the maximum sentence for someone caught in possession of a knife has just been doubled from two years to four years.
The age of a person allowed legally to buy a knife will increase from 16 to 18 in October.
Southampton's three political parties and local MPs have called for a zero tolerance approach.
It comes after a string of knife-related deaths in Hampshire this year. Most recently teenager Lewis Singleton died of stab wounds in Southampton.
Click HERE to read more article from our 'Knives off the streets' campaign
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