All knife carriers should be prosecuted, warns Met chief

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Sir Ian Blair said it was "totally unacceptable" that half of those caught in possession of knives in the capital in the past year had been let off with a caution.

In an urgent plea the Metropolitan Police Commissioner said: "We have to stop the growing incidence of weapons being carried on our streets."

Sir Ian spoke out three days after the "dreadful" knife murder of 17-year-old Rizwan Darbar, the 15th teenager to be stabbed to death in London so far this year.

In a speech to a criminal justice conference in London he said in the past year 893 people - including 228 children - had been let off with a caution after being caught with a knife in the capital. He said he was holding talks with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that everyone caught in possession would be charged and go before a court where there would be the possibility of being sent to prison.

He said: "We already have extensive laws in relation to guns, although more will probably have to be done."

He said it should be for the courts and not the CPS, as at present, to decide what action should be taken against knife-carriers. "This does not necessarily mean prison but it does mean that everyone who carries a knife should appear in front of an appropriate court and understand the severity of what they have done."

He revealed the Met had agreed a deal with the CPS that would mean all adults caught in possession would now be charged but he admitted the situation with youth offending was more complex.