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Nick Clegg: Tory knife crime plan a 'step backwards' Ed Miliband 'sympathetic' to tougher knife crime sentences
(about 3 hours later)
Nick Clegg has attacked plans by Tory justice minister Chris Grayling to automatically jail offenders convicted twice for possessing a knife. Labour leader Ed Miliband has said he is "sympathetic" to Conservative plans for tougher sentences for knife crime.
The deputy prime minister dismissed it as a "headline-grabbing" policy that would do more harm than good. Tory Justice Minister Chris Grayling wants to automatically jail offenders convicted twice for possessing a knife.
Writing in the Guardian, he suggested the policy could turn young offenders into hardened criminals. Deputy PM Nick Clegg has attacked the plan as a "headline-grabbing" stunt that could make crime worse.
Mr Grayling is pushing for mandatory six-month jail terms for adults convicted twice for carrying a knife. But Mr Miliband said he did not agree with Mr Clegg and it was important to send a "strong signal" that carrying knives was "not acceptable".
His policy has the backing of several Conservative ministers but Lib Dem ministers are thought to be against it. Prime Minister David Cameron has not yet revealed whether he will formally support the idea. The Labour leader's intervention means the plan, which is already backed by Home Secretary Theresa May, could become law without the backing of both coalition parties.
Mr Clegg suggested Mr Grayling's plan, leaked to the press last week, was a "headline-grabbing" solution following the murder of the Leeds schoolteacher Ann Maguire, who was stabbed to death in front of her pupils. More than 25 backbench Conservative MPs have put forward an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill currently making its way through Parliament.
The Liberal Democrat leader said that by trying to sound tough, politicians could end up making the situation worse. 'Strong message'
"When someone is caught carrying a knife, we need to do something about it," he wrote in the newspaper. Mr Miliband told BBC News: "We definitely do want to use the legislation to strengthen the law and we are definitely sympathetic to the issue of mandatory sentences after a second offence, after conviction for a second offence.
"But six months in prison is not always the right answer." "We need to make sure it's done in the right way, but that's where we stand, because I think the public want to know that we are going to send a strong message to people who carry knives repeatedly that it is not acceptable."
'Hardened criminals' Mr Clegg claims mandatory sentences would increase the prison population and harm efforts to rehabilitate young offenders, some of whom may be turned into "hardened criminals" by a spell in prison.
Mr Clegg said the policy, which seeks automatically to sentence someone to a minimum six months in prison the second time they are caught with a knife - "even a penknife, in your pocket" - could harm rehabilitation prospects. He insisted he was not "soft" on crime and said prison was the right option for violent offenders - but judges should be allowed to use their expertise and judgement in deciding on individual cases.
"Imagine a vulnerable young girl hanging round with members of a gang. She could be forced into carrying a knife by another gang member; it happens a lot," Mr Clegg said. "It is better to be smart on crime than sounding tough but doing something that could actually end up increasing crime," he said on his weekly LBC radio show.
When stopped by the police, the girl may not mention that she was forced to to carry the knife for fear of retribution, he said. 'Surprised'
"Putting someone like that into prison could push them into the arms of hardened criminals, and let the gang leaders off the hook," Mr Clegg said. In an article for the Guardian, the Lib Dem leader said Chris Grayling's plan was a "headline-grabbing" solution following the murder of the Leeds schoolteacher Ann Maguire, who was stabbed to death in front of her pupils.
"Instead of prison, we need to divert vulnerable people away from gang culture." Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said he backed Mr Grayling's plan for tougher sentences because similar measures for gun offences had led to a drop in the number of young people being picked up with the weapons.
'Step backwards' He told LBC: "For me, it's vital we send a clear message to our young people."
The deputy prime minister said prison was the right option for violent offenders - but judges should be allowed to use their expertise and judgement in deciding on individual cases. He added: "They do hear simple messages. They have heard it about guns, I think they need to hear it about knives."
He said minimum sentencing might "sound attractive in media headlines" but there was a "serious risk" it could undermine the role of judges. But Mr Clegg said mandatory sentences could lead to innocent people being imprisoned or young girls coerced by gang members into carrying weapons being jailed when they were really the victims.
"This is why I believe this proposed law would be a step backwards," Mr Clegg added. "The police, quite understandably, often say they want new powers on the statute book and often politicians and Parliament say, 'Hang on a minute, we don't just constantly put new offences on the statute book without considering the knock-on effect on the prison population, on rates of re-offending'," he said.
More than 25 Tory MPs are said to be backing the mandatory six-month jail term policy for adults convicted of a second offence involving a knife.
The move is understood to have the support of prominent Conservative Party members including Home Secretary Theresa May and Education Secretary Michael Gove.
Speaking last week, Mr Gove said the government had to send a "very clear signal" that knife crime would not be tolerated.
"It is absolutely important that we use Parliament to communicate to the public - and to anyone tempted to carry a knife in public - that the sentence for behaving in this way will be clear and firm and tough," he said.
Labour has not yet made clear whether it will support the plan when it is brought before the House of Commons.
But Mr Clegg said, if it does, the party would be "playing politics with this issue".
He said if Labour backed the proposal it would be "clear that they have learned nothing from their time in government, when they let the prison population spiral out of control".He said if Labour backed the proposal it would be "clear that they have learned nothing from their time in government, when they let the prison population spiral out of control".
Conservative mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "Nick Clegg is wrong. I do believe it's vital that we work to educate and rehabilitate those caught up in the culture of knife-carrying but equally it is imperative that the police and the courts are given every support to tackle the scourge of knife crime.
"That means backing this amendment, not ducking the issue. I'm surprised by the stance of the deputy prime minister - an issue as important as this needs unequivocal cross-party support."