Longer minimum terms for knife killers could be introduced after a review announced after calls by the family of Ben Kinsella for a change in the law.

Jack Straw said that he would consult judges and other bodies over the different minimum terms imposed for murders carried out with knives and guns.

The Justice Secretary acted days after the family of Ben Kinsella, who was stabbed to death last June, criticised the guidelines under which the starting point for someone convicted of a knife murder is 15 years compared with 30 years for murder with a firearm.

Mr Straw told MPs that there had been anxiety about the disparity between the two starting points and that he would consult with a view to bringing the minimum terms closer together.

“There have been considerable concerns about the starting points for the minimum terms for murder involving the use of a firearm, which is 30 years, compared with murder involving use of a knife, which is 15 years,” he said.

Mr Straw made his announcement in response to a question from David Winnick, the Labour backbencher, who said that the sentences given to the murderers of Ben Kinsella were “not really sufficient”.

Ben’s family have called for a shake-up of sentencing for knife murders after Juress Kika, 19, Michael Alleyne, 18, and Jade Braithwaite, 20, were given life sentences and told that they must serve a minimum of 19 years before being eligible for parole.

George and Deborah Kinsella have said they wished that the judge had the power to impose longer sentences. Ben Kinsella, 16, was stabbed 11 times in five seconds after being chased along a street in North London.

Mr Winnick said: “It does seem that the minimum 19-year sentences passed on the three heartless thugs who murdered Ben Kinsella are not really sufficient, and the family are rightly concerned about this.”

He called for the sentence to be reconsidered by the Court of Appeal as too lenient and for a longer minimum term of between 25 and 30 years to be imposed.

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