Actor Idris Elba believes banning zombie knives is a step forward, but it won’t solve the UK’s knife crime crisis. In his BBC documentary, Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis, he explores the issue and highlights the need for early intervention to protect young people from violence.
Elba argues that schools must step in earlier to prevent children from turning to crime. He also suggests that kitchen knives could be redesigned to be less dangerous. "Not all kitchen knives need a point. You can still cut food without it," he says, offering an different approach to reducing knife-related crimes.
Knife crime remains a serious issue, with 507 children treated for stab wounds in England in the year leading up to April 2024. As a father of three, Elba says these statistics are deeply worrying. He believes prevention should be a priority, rather than just focusing on punishment.
His documentary features a 17-year-old in Feltham Young Offender Institution who started carrying a knife at 13 after being bullied. The teenager explains that having a knife made him feel powerful and protected, but it ultimately led him to commit a violent crime. He is now serving a sentence for grievous bodily harm.
Elba believes school exclusions often push vulnerable children toward crime and calls for better intervention programmes. One such initiative, the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (Cirv) in the West Midlands, has helped young people like 16-year-old Jayden, who started carrying a knife at 12 after being attacked. Through Cirv, Jayden joined a football academy and now dreams of becoming a coach. However, the program’s funding is set to run out in six months.
Initiatives like Cirv cost £1,500 per child per year which is far less than imprisoning young offenders. Elba urges the government to rethink its approach by investing in long-term solutions.
While the government has banned zombie knives and is working to ban ninja swords, Elba strongly insists real change requires deeper intervention to stop crime before it starts.
Kulsuma Aktergetty images
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)