Tavis Spencer-Aitkens murder: Gang member's sentence cut

Kyreis Davies (right) and Aristote Yenge were found guilty of murder

The parents of a 17-year-old boy who was stabbed to death have hit out at a High Court decision to cut the sentence of a gang member who killed him.

Tavis Spencer-Aitkens was stabbed 15 times and hit over the head with a glass bottle in Ipswich on 2 June 2018.

At the High Court, Kyreis Davies saw his 21-year minimum sentence for murder reduced to 16 years on appeal.

Tavis's father Neville Aitkens and step-mother Helen Forbes said they were "devastated" by the decision.

Tavis's father Neville Aitkens and step-mother Helen Forbes are angry at the court decision

In April 2019, Davies, from Colchester, Essex, and three others were convicted of the murder of Tavis, while another was convicted of manslaughter.

Mr Aitkens told the BBC that the High Court had decided to reduce the sentence because Davies was only 16 at the time of the attack and should not receive as higher sentence as an adult.

"I am absolutely gutted. If you do the crime, you should do the time. It should not matter what age you are," he said.

"He murdered my son. I'm upset with the legal system."

Ms Forbes said: "Every day is a struggle. It has been a life sentence for us."

At the sentencing in April 2019, Judge Martyn Levett said the attack was a "grim demonstration" of how knife crime has "blighted towns and cities across the UK".

Tavis Spencer-Aitkens died in hospital after being stabbed 15 times

Four of the gang members were given life sentences for murder:

• Isaac Calver, then 19, of St Helen's Street, Ipswich was given a minimum of 21 years

• Aristote Yenge, then 23, of Spring Road, Ipswich was given a minimum of 25 years

• Adebayo Amusa, then 20, of Sovereign Road, Barking, east London was given a minimum of 23 years

• Kyreis Davies, then 17, of Turnstile Square, Colchester, was given a minimum of 21 years

Callum Plaats, 23, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for manslaughter.