Dads bonded by knife crime grief meet minister

Dads Colin Knox and Martin Cosser both lost their sons to knife crime

Two fathers whose sons were fatally stabbed met with the policing minister to call for compulsory knife crime lessons in schools.

Colin Knox from Kent and Martin Cosser from Surrey met for the first time in August when they pleaded with the government to change the curriculum.

Colin's 18-year-old son Rob was murdered outside a bar in London in 2008 and Martin's 17-year-old son Charlie was murdered at a party in West Sussex in 2023.

Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson vowed to meet the two dads after they took part in an interview with BBC South East.

Charlie Cosser and Rob Knox were both stabbed to death

Both families said meeting with the minister had been a positive experience.

Mr Cosser said: "She [Mrs Johnson] said this won't be the end of our relationship and she wants to see us again.

"Knife crime is very much on the government's agenda so that's a good thing."

He said he was looking forward to making "positive change together".

Dame Diana Johnson MP and Ashford MP Sojan Joseph met Mr Knox and Mr Cosser at the Home Office

Mr Knox was invited to the Home Office 16 years ago after Rob died and said the previous meeting had been a "complete flop".

He said the meeting on Thursday was much more positive.

Mr Knox said: "We have a lot of hope. I'm hoping there will be a change.

"All those involved were all talking it up and it felt very productive and proactive."

Colin and Martin met for an intimate chat about losing their sons to knife crime

Karl Bishop was given a life sentence for Harry Potter actor Rob's murder and Charlie's killer Yura Varybrus was also sentenced to life behind bars.

More than 50,000 knife crime offences in England and Wales were reported in the 12 months to March 2024, a 4% rise on the previous year, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show.

Mr Cosser and Mr Knox say Sir Keir Starmer needs to "do something different" to tackle the increasing issue.

'Double down' on knife crime

The prime minister pledged to "double down" on knife crime at a summit at Downing Street aimed at halving it over the next decade.

The government said it was bringing in tough new laws on the sale of weapons.

Zombie-style knives and machetes were banned last month - along with butterfly knives, samurai swords and push daggers (short-bladed knives with a T-shaped handle).

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We allow schools discretion to tailor the content of the curriculum to suit the threats that face their pupils, including focusing on knife crime.”