Met crackdown on teenage murders

Sir Ian Blair says the killings are not confined to any one borough

Emergency plans have been drawn up by police to tackle the latest spate of teenage murders.

The special operation, announced by the Head of the Metropolitan Police, will target the most violent offenders across London over the summer months.

Sir Ian Blair said extra officers would be deployed in every borough to detect any instances of teenage violence.

Controversially, stop and search would also be used to catch youngsters carrying knives or guns.

He defended the tactic, saying that "some of the weapons are of such a significant size that it would not be a difficult thing to find had somebody been stopped and searched."

The Commissioner said 15 teenagers had been murdered in London since January alone. He described the situation as unacceptable.

"While the Met is driving down crime, two to three dead teenagers a week creates a sense of fear that is just completely unacceptable in the 21st century," he said.

The most recent teenage victim is 14-year-old Martin Dinnegan, who was stabbed to death by a gang in Holloway, north London, on Tuesday.

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