At its Annual Meetings last month, the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches passed the following resolution:

This General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches:

1) Expresses its concern at the increasing incidence of devastating knife crime in Britain’s towns and cities.

2) Expresses its strong support for an adequately funded multi-agency campaign to tackle this significantly raised threat to public safety, along the lines of that which has been so successful in Glasgow.

3) Urges Her Majesty’s Government and the devolved administrations to establish an immediate investigation into ways and means of drastically reducing, over time, the ready availability of sharp pointed knives by the introduction of appropriate controls on retail and internet sales.

4) Calls upon Unitarian congregations to publicise the resolution amongst their members and friends and to ask their local elected representatives to raise these concerns with their relevant ministers and the Home Secretary’s Serious Violence Task Force, with particular regard to the issue of sharp pointed knives.