Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Nicola Sturgeon backs calls for anti-stab kitchen knives

Maureen Watt MSP
Maureen Watt MSP

Nicola Sturgeon yesterday backed calls for sharp and pointed kitchen knives to be replaced with “round-ended” ones to combat stabbings.

The first minister signalled her support of so-called “anti-stab” knives after South Aberdeen and North Kincardine MSP Maureen Watt called for their introduction.

The SNP MSP’s north-east constituency includes Cults Academy where a teenage schoolboy was stabbed to death by a fellow-pupil in 2016.

At First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Ms Watt quoted an  five year study conducted in Edinburgh which showed that 94% of sharp instruments used in homicides were kitchen knives.

Ms Watt asked Nicola Sturgeon if the first minister would agree that “Scotland can be at the forefront of the campaign to replace sharp, pointed knives that have been proven to have had significant penetrative capabilities with round ended ones”.

Ms Sturgeon replied: “Yes I think there is the potential for Scotland to be at the forefront of initaitives like that.”

The first minister added that the Scottish Government’s approach to knife crime was focussed on prevention and early intervention.

She said ministers were investing in campaigns like `No Knives, Better Lives’ and `Medics Against Violence’.

“Over the past decade police recorded crimes of handling an offensive weapon have fallen and emergency admissions to hospitals have fallen, but we recognise the devastating consequences violence has on individuals, families and communities so we know much more has to be done,” Ms Sturgeon said.

“We are very open to exploring any evidence showing that anti-stab knives are an effective approach to tackling violent crime.”

Designs for “anti-stab” utensils include knives with a “combination tip”.

The tip has a rounded edge instead of a point, which reduces the risk of injury and the blade for cutting is underneath.

While it can chop vegetables, the tip makes penetration more difficult.

It also snags on clothing and skin, making it very unlikely to inflict a fatal wound.

In the past, doctors have lobbied for kitchen knives to be redesigned in that manner.

Ms Watt’s campaign against sharp knives has been influenced by the death of 16-year-old Bailey Gwynne after he was stabbed at Cults Academy.

The teenager died in hospital after the incident. His attacker, who cannot be named, was jailed for nine years after being found guilty of culpable homicide.

A five-day trial at the High Court in Aberdeen heard the incident was sparked over an argument over a biscuit.