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Councillors give standing ovation to knife safety campaigner

David CowanScotland home affairs correspondent
News imageBBC Lisa Petrie has her dark hair tied back and wears a grey hoodie. She holds a red rectangular package which says BLEED SAVE on it. In smaller text it says In Memory of John Mcnab, Bleed control kits, Lives influenced for tomorrow, not in vain campaignBBC
Lisa Petrie hopes the bleeding control kits can help save injured people

A mother whose son died in an alleged stabbing has received a standing ovation from councillors after asking them to back her campaign for greater security around the sale of kitchen knives.

Lisa Petrie told City of Edinburgh Council retailers should do more to prevent knives being stolen by teenagers.

The social care worker also asked councillors to install bleeding control kits in community facilities around the city.

Her son John McNab died after an incident in Leith in September. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder.

News imageLisa Petrie A man with short dark hair smiles at the camera. He wears a light blue tracksuit top and a cross body bag and has his arm around his mum, who is shorter than him. She has her dark hair tied back and wears a light coloured hoodie and smiles. Lisa Petrie
John Mcnab and his mum Lisa Petrie, who distributes kits to treat severe bleeding

Some councillors wiped tears from their eyes after Ms Petrie addressed the full council meeting at Edinburgh city chambers.

She told them: "John's life was full of fun, laughter and winding up his little sister.

"Now our world is filled with silence, sadness and heartbreak. and unanswered questions.

"I move from anger to sadness to devastation, constantly asking myself what I could have done to save him."

The 44-year-old mother-of-two said police have told her one of the most common ways for teenagers to get hold of knives is through theft.

She told the council: "Knives are openly available on shop shelves for teenagers and children to take. They have no security tags. They are freely accessible.

"Yet computer games are locked away, with empty boxes taken to customer service. Alcohol requires a buzzer to be pressed for staff access.

"Even mince and butter are security tagged. But not knives. It makes me feel like John's life was considered less valuable than a computer game or a block of butter."

News imageLisa Petrie has her dark hair tied up and wears a grey hoodie. She has her arm around Pauline Bowie, a woman with long blonde hair wearing a brown jumper.
Ms Petrie spoke at the City Chambers in Edinburgh with Pauline Bowie from Lower Income Families Together, a community project based in the city's Muirhouse area.

Since her son's death, Ms Petrie has been raising money to pay for bleed kits, which she's distributing around the city.

Each emergency medical pack contains equipment to treat traumatic blood loss.

She asked the council to install the kits in locked cabinets beside defibrillators and inside public buildings such as schools, community centres, pubs, and clubs.

Lord Provost Robert Aldridge thanked Ms Petrie for sharing her story and told her: "I know your son would be very proud of what you're doing.

"It's very rare in this place we have deputations seeking to save individuals' lives. You can make a real difference."

News imageLisa Petrie John Mcnab smiles at the camera while sitting on a couch in a living room. He has short dark brown hair and wears a dark top.Lisa Petrie
John Mcnab died on Great Junction Street in Edinburgh in September

Lisa Petrie's petition on change.org calling for kitchen knives to be removed from shop shelves has received almost 44,000 signatures.

A Scottish Retail Consortium, spokesperson, said: "Retailers take their responsibilities seriously and are fully committed to playing their part in making sure knives don't make their way into the wrong hands.

"The industry takes the system of age checks seriously and many have already signed up to the Home Office voluntary agreement on the sale of knives, alongside using security tags, secure packaging and staff training to manage sales responsibly."