Idris Elba calls for tougher action on knife crime after a spate of teen killings in Britain

LONDON (AP) — Actor Idris Elba is urging urged the British government to ban machetes and serrated “zombie” knives to help stop young people falling victim to knife crime. The London-born star joined protesters from the “Don’t Stop Your Future” campaign outside Parliament on Monday. He posed with clothes and shoes that belonged to people killed by knives. The U.K has strict gun-control laws, and about four in 10 homicides involve a knife or sharp instrument. In London, 21 teenagers were killed in 2023, 18 of whom were stabbed to death. Elba said he “can’t stay silent as more young lives are lost to these brutal and heartless crimes.”