Gun and knife crime crisis denied

He criticised Tory leader David Cameron for talking of "anarchy" on city streets and pledged the Government would crack down on "hotspot" pockets of violence where they occurred.

Mr Balls was speaking on the day thousands of well-wishers were expected to join the family of 11-year-old shooting victim Rhys Jones at a community vigil to mark the youngster's life.

His mother Melanie, 41, father Stephen, 44, and older brother Owen, 17, will light a candle in his memory at the ceremony at Croxteth Country Park, Liverpool this afternoon.

Rhys died after he was shot in the neck while walking home after playing football with his friends.

Mr Balls told GMTV's Sunday programme: "I don't think there's a crisis, but I do think it's right that we act in those hotspot areas where there's clearly a problem with guns and knives, and across the country people want to know their communities are secure.

"In my constituency, whether I talk to 15 year olds or 65 year olds, they want the streets to be safe, they want the parks to be lit. They also know that young people do need more places to go after school and at weekends.

"We need to do much more to support young people. We also need to support parents and in particular to support parents who are getting into difficulties to tackle these problems early.

"But what about other politicians? When David Cameron talks about anarchy in the UK, when he talks about the breakdown of society, I think he's running down the achievements and the contributions of the vast majority of our young people."

Mr Balls told the programme: "I don't have any time myself for this talk about anarchy in Britain or the breakdown of society. In most parts of our country there isn't a problem with gun or knife crime, but it's right that where there is we tackle it in a very hard way and tackle it as a criminal justice problem first and foremost."