Conservative candidate for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Lia Nici, has come under fire after she said people are “fortunate in this area [Grimsby] that the majority of knife crime is done by people who know each other.”
Yesterday Gi Grimsby News and Franklin Sixth Form College hosted the Grimsby & Cleethorpes Candidate Q&A. Reform UK candidate Oliver Freeston and Labour candidate Melanie Onn were invited alongside Lia Nici to answer constituents questions ahead of the upcoming general election.
All three candidates were asked a set of general questions, as well as individual queries from the public and our audience at home. One audience member asked what the candidates would do to combat the devastating effects of knife crime in Grimsby.
There was an audible gasp in the room and Nici quickly came under fire when she responded claiming that “we are fortunate in this area [Grimsby] that the majority of knife crime is done by people who know each other generally or in relation to drugs”.
She said: “In this parliament we have increased the sentencing for people carrying knives, and we have also reinstated stop and search. Whilst some people were complaining about it, actually stop and search is proven to find people with dangerous weapons on them.
“But I think its also an education role as well, I’ve been talking to a young video producer who has been making a video about knife crime, and about how people think that the option to take a knife out to be protected is the option to take. Obviously what that does it escalates and makes it very dangerous for people.
“We are fortunate in this area that the majority of knife crime is done by people who know each other generally or in relation to drugs. I work with the police on a regular basis to talk to them about what’s going on.
“The measures we’ve already taken, I would make laws stronger and work with young people, to talk about the dangers of having knives and encouraging people to talk to people. Everything we’ve done to try and make stronger laws to deter people from carrying knives, unfortunately the Labour Party has opposed.”
She later cut into a statement being made by another candidate, claiming the effects of knife crime are “not extended to the general public.”
The statement comes less than a month after Gi Grimsby News interviewed members of the public living in the vicinity of a stabbing in Boulevard Park, Grimsby. Contrary to Nici’s claims, numerous people told us that whether or not the incidents are isolated to people who are known to eachother residents are frequently left scared for their safety.
One said: “It’s just absolutely ridiculous. The situation is horrific. You can’t walk the streets these days without fear of something happening. I’ve lost track of the amount of incidents, particularly in that park, it’s becoming a no go zone. It feels unsafe, it’s full of crime. It’s supposed to be a safe place for families.”
More to follow.
