Brown heralds online anti-knife campaign

Gordon Brown today joined the families of murder victims to launch an online campaign aimed at tackling knife crime.

Mr Brown said relatives of victims were able to give "the most powerful warning there is" about the effects of using a weapon.

The Government is working with charity Families Utd, which represents victims' relatives, to launch the Count Me In: Together We Can Stop Knife Crime week.

Mr Brown said: "I believe young people want to see an end to knife crime, just as we all do, and I believe the power to make that happen is as much in their hands as it is ours."

The mother of murdered actor Rob Knox said his family wanted to make sure he had not died in vain. Sally Knox said that his loved ones were trying to bring something positive from his death. She told GMTV: "It's something that as a family you will never, ever get over. But I think what we're trying to do is turn everything into a positive. "

Mr Knox, 18, who appeared in Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, died when he was stabbed outside a bar in Sidcup, in May 2008.

Barry Mizen, whose 16-year-old son Jimmy was murdered in a south London bakery in 2008, said: "Count Me In is a chance for all the young people of this country to add their voice, and display in a tangible way, their desires to bring improvements to our communities.

"It is all too easy nowadays to brand young people as aggressive and confrontational, when in fact that is far from the truth and most want to show they have much to offer and can be part of the solution."

Youngsters will be urged to sign up at the Families Utd website or on Facebook. For more information: familiesutd.com/countmein