The parents of the sixteen yr olds accused should be put in jail, as should all parents if their children are found with deadly weapons. Until parents learn to take responsibility for the way their children behave this kind of thing will happen again and again. RIP Ben, my heart goes to his family.

Helen Theron, Johannesburg, South Africa

To Philip, London,
Of course they were black, that's why no description of the attackers appears in any reports. If the young man had been black and the attackers white it would have been all over the press as a racially motivated crime, with that waste of time plod Blair airing his one sided view

pete, birmingham, uk

Blame the parents who don't give a toss. In a few months time some shell suit wearing Wanye and Waynetta will be screaming that their kid didn't get a fair trial when they could have done more to stop their child turning into a murderer.

James, Glasgow,

"two 16-year-old youths were arrested" - call me old fashioned but what are two 16 year old's doing in a pub at 2am?

When are parent's going to start taking some responsibility in the education of their children?

I left the UK 15 years ago and would never dream of going back...

Gavin, Rennes, France

you "assume the killers were black" (you don't know, but you posted all the same) well, that's very insightful and not in the least presumtive... i don't know what's more frightening; the article or some of the comments...
a grave tragedy nonetheless

Sophie, Glasgow,

we need justice for this sort of behaviour.... bring back capital punishment ! ...these people that carry knifes and go round causing trouble need to be dealt with properly

paul, surbiton,surrey,

S0 sorry to hear of yet another death in our country. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones, may this bitter time end soon.

kelvin, Helston, Cornwall

Another young life lost in the crime ridden streets of britain.
When he something going to be done to stop this madness which seems to be getting worse and worse.
Condolences to Brooke Kinsella & her family at this time.

Tony Lally, Newquay, Cornwall, UK

re-ColinW. Funny how those who deplore "war mongering" only demand U.S. intervention militarily to end evil when there is no nat. security interest. Where were libs protesting the genocides in Marxist gulags & Africa? Leftists ONLY care about atrocities when they can stick it to White capitalists.

cathy hansen , ruckersville, virginia, usa

As the Brother of somebody who was convicted for Murder as a result of a fight involving a knife, I firstly want to express sorrow for all the families affected by the tragedy.
A culture of violence/disrespect to fellow man underlies these incidents and it is this that needs addressed.

John Smith, Stockholm, Sweden

Ban knives?--bit of a problem when eating ,then.
When I was a boy scout many years ago a knife was part of the uniform, but the only injuries were self inflicted when whittling bits of wood etc.
It's the culture that's sick--for instance where were the parents when a young boy was in a pub at 2am

D.Henry, Edinburgh, Scotland UK

Randall

Register their knives - what? Have you ever played Monopoly? Simple game - if you land on the wrong square and have a blade in your pocket, you "Go to Goal".

I was a cop in London for 30 years and never saw it happen. Tell me I'm wrong. Please - tell me I'm wrong?

Jack morris, Swanley, Kent

Yet again, violence again on the streets of london.

But....lets all blame the police..... like Fiona seems to do!
"If we had more police on the streets" ... then everything would be 'hunky doory'!
Wake up Fiona. The Police are busting a nut everyday, 24/7, whilst you are sleeping in your bed.

Phil, Kent,

I assume the killers were black. I might be wrong. But I assume it.

Philip, London,

Another victim of the liberal mindset.

Wake up! This is war!

Destroy your attackers - before they destroy you!

Terry, London, UK

Years ago when posted abroad on National Service, one of my uncles, who had served in the same country during WWII, warned me to watch my back as the locals tend carry knives, something rare in Britain then. I wonder if the British have really changed so much or did we import knife crime!

William Epps, Broadstairs, UK

Initally my thoughts and prayers go out to Ben's family. As a mother of teenagers living in London this is my worse nightmare. Where were the police while this was going on. We need more police on our streets. if there were more police doing their rounds, maybe this knife crime will become less.

Fiona, London,

Also, re: Kay Hodgson
Family values would be great I agree, loss of parenting skills is almost certainly the key factor behind youth crime in general. But surely the name alone tells you who should be teaching "family" values, and it's not schools...

HBN, Kent,

James and Roger sum it all up in a nutshell

Andrew

Andrew , Hertfordshire,

No Mr Chard of Fairfield USA, it has not worked as gun crime and drive- by shootings still occur. The answer is to change the attitudes of the youth and the parents who grow up in an environment where the wrong role models are used. And of course to bring back the death penalty.

B J Deller, Marbella, Spain

Hi I am a mother of 3 children, maybe somewhere in the education of children they could bring in some sociology ,psychology and something about family values and beliefs into the curriculum.

kay hodgson, Furness Vale, England

I agree Randall, though i do fear we would just face an escalation in fork crime instead. also i'm not sure how your taxing scheme would work, is it a blanket knife tax or just those bought for stabbing people? i could see middle england being upset that the family cutlery is being taxed.

JP, London,

Colin, i'm a little confused as to the relevance of your comment but not as much as by the tone. It would appear you view warmongers and warmongering in general as 'a bad thing' but you also seem to be angry that US and British tanks aren't rolling through the streets of Harare? How does that work?

JP, London,

Answers won't be found until we have an earnest pc free debate as to to the causes of spiralling youth violence. In my opinion, we need to look at the sexual fetishisation of male agression and violence on the part of females.

Bruno, London,

HI I think they should have a knife thingy like they did with the guns to get them off the streets penknifes etc AND parents should lock knifes away and carry a key with them at all times.We must try to stop this going on and on i`m a mother of two, when i was growing up it was safe on the streets..

miss childs, shrewsbury, shropshire

No description of the attackers! Bet if they were white and the victiom black, they would have been caught by now!

A Thorn, London,

Pubs are not a pleasant atmosphere these days. Maybe we should raise the age for going to them to 21? I wasn't allowed to stay out until 2am when I was 18. We need to clamp down on alcohol and see a fundamental change: provide other fun night time venues for people, serving only juice and coffee.

Robert, Manchester, UK

Ban knives! Ban hard boots! Ban all sharp implements! Ban any means of being able to kill! To kill or maim is in the mind of the aggressor and the means to do so will be found. What a mess Britain has become. A country with weak laws and no moral authority to preserve social order.

Gordon Phillips, Huntington Beach,cal, usa

Awful, just awful. Now, let me guess what the common denominator is going to be when they finally issue more detailed descriptions of the attacker.

We all know the terrible answer at the root of this. What do you think Trevor Philips?

James, London, United Kingdom

Just another day in jolly old London town.

David, Bromley,

Will there be a Stephen Lawrence type enquiry or not? I guess not as we now live in the land where racism is a one way street and guess what, that is why the BNP is thriving and Nulabour the party of inequality.

Roger, Surrey.,

funny how the war mongers in america and england,stand by scratching their asses watching the goings on in south africa and do nothing about it at all, whats up war mongers,aint they got no oil for you to steal ???

colin williams, brentford, united kingdom

The solution to the knife violence in London is simple: BAN KNIVES!! It worked for guns didn't it? Or better yet perhaps, license all knife owners and then tax the hell out of them. Make people register their knives with the government and attend mandatory training classes, for a fee, of course.

Randall Chard, Fairfield, USA