England footballers David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and David James publicly backed a government anti-knife campaign on Monday.

At the press conference, Home secretary Jacqui Smith declared the government was committed to tackling knife crime and removing the weapons from Britain's streets. Ms Smith announced that since the government's Tackling Knives Action Programme, launched in June, some 55,000 people have been searched over the last two months or so, with 2,500 arrests being made for knife-related offences and 1,600 knives seized.

The Home Secretary added:

"The tragic deaths of Conor James Black in Manchester and Nilanthan Murddi in Croydon show why the work of the action programme is so important,"

"If you carry a knife you are now more likely to get caught, more likely to be prosecuted and more likely to go to prison if found guilty.

"Knife crime is a complex issue which we all need to work together to solve. Enforcement action is only one part of the solution. I am pleased that later today the England football team will be supporting our marketing campaign 'It doesn't have to happen' urging young people not to carry knives," Ms Smith added.

"I want to reinforce our commitment to tackling knives and getting them off our streets. Working with the police, local authorities, the health service and partners like the FA, we'll do all we can to protect young people, their families and communities from the fear and grief of knife crime."

As part of the new programme, police forces are working closely with local hospitals. A General Medical Council guideline on August 5th stipulated that hospitals should inform the police anytime a patient arrives with knife wounds.