Newham had second highest number of knife injuries in London last year

Newham is in the top three boroughs for knife crime in London, according to official police figures.

The borough had the second highest number of knife-related injuries in the capital last year. Of the 246 people injured, three were fatal stabbings and 63 were recorded as serious injuries.

Newham is also one of the worst affected boroughs for overall knife crime. There were 1,165 reported knife-related offences in 2016, a 10 per cent increase on the year before.

The Metropolitan Police statistics, revealed in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, showed officers dealt with a total of 21,365 knife crimes last year. Lambeth also had 1,165 offences, while Southwark topped the list at 1,258.

Det Ch Supt Kevin Southworth said police had adapted their their tactics to “better address” how they tackle knife crime.

He said: “As a result of our education programmes and targeted work in different boroughs we have successfully managed to reduce the amount of gang-related knife crime.

“The most recent phase of Operation Sceptre in January involved nearly 900 activities across the capital and we have similar proactive activity planned throughout the year.”