Sven Badzak: PM concerned crime will ‘rebound’ as lockdown ends after latest London stabbing

The prime minister has said he is concerned about crime “rebounding” as lockdown ends.

He said the government was “redoubling” efforts on knife crime and gangs – and said his thoughts were with a mother whose son was stabbed to death at the weekend.

Boris Johnson told reporters: “We’ve seen a big fall in crime figures in the last few months but I’m worried about it rebounding as we come out of lockdown.”

The comments come after Sven Badzak, 22, was killed on Saturday, with his friend left fighting for his life, after they were chased and attacked in Kilburn, London.

Jasna Badzak, a former Conservative Party activist, tweeted pictures of her son as a child with Boris Johnson, George Osborne and David Cameron, alongside a plea for help.

Mr Badzak was on his way to the shop when he was attacked.

The prime minister said on Monday that his thoughts were “very much with [Ms Badzak] and her family in mourning the loss of her son”.

Ms Badzak told Sky News that Sven – an aspiring lawyer – was her only child and “my everything”.

“I invested all my life for him to have the best possible life,” she said. “He could charm everybody, even the hardest people.”

She said he was a “future prime minister” and described their final words as he kissed her goodbye and went to buy a bagel.

“[He said] ‘love you mum’, I said ‘I love you too, please come back soon’ – that was the last conversation I ever had with him,” said Ms Badzak.

She added: “He had exceptionally polite manners, he cared about everyone, everyone in this neighbourhood, everyone he met in life.”

She accused the police of being “rude” and said she had not yet been able to see her son.

Police have called the attack “barbaric” and believe Mr Badzak and his friend had been involved in an “altercation” with a group of males.

Mr Johnson told reporters he wanted to ensure young people do not get drawn into the “nihilistic” culture of gangs.

He said he was worried about crime picking up as coronavirus restrictions are loosened, but that authorities were now “redoubling efforts” to fight violence.

“I think that’s what happening on the streets of too many of our cities is very, very sad and I want to see kids protected from some of the gang crime, the knife crime, the culture of violence that they’re all too often sucked up in,” said Mr Johnson.

He said efforts would focus on a “tough policing response”, including stop and search, and “proper custodial sentences for young people who go equipped with knives”.

Another man was also stabbed to death during a spate of other attacks in London over 24 hours at the weekend that left at least 11 others wounded.

(c) Sky News 2021: Sven Badzak: PM concerned crime will ‘rebound’ as lockdown ends after latest London stabbing