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Wilko's Debate

Steven (Ste) was brutally murdered by Jamie Mitchell on 4th October 2022. Mitchell was sentenced to serve a minimum of 22 years of a life sentence at Mold Crown Court on the 4th of May 2023.

Mitchell went out, armed with a kitchen knife with full intent on inflicting harm to "someone". Ste, going about his business, completely innocent of any harm towards the perpetrator became the victim of Mitchell's anger. Ste being stabbed by Mitchell, tragically died shortly after.

After long discussions and research, Ste's family agreed with me that the best way forward is to campaign the Government to debate, review and reform the existing law on knives contained in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019.

Concentrating on the possession of or the use of knives (as defined in existing legislation) during the commission of an existing criminal offence in the UK, and to explore the creation of a new post within the Government in the form of Minister for Knife Crime in the UK.

Having a dedicated minister specifically assigned to prevent knife crime would demonstrate that the Government recognises the severity of the issue and is committed to tackling it. It would send a strong message that knife crime is a priority and requires targeted efforts.

Please visit the petition on the link below:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/639631

After the initial six-month period of campaigning (which any petition to the Government can run) the number of signatures required to trigger an automatic debate in Parliament had not been reached. This spelt the end of Wilko's Debate Campaign in its founding format. Ste's family were emotionally exhausted, they had accompanied me to many towns and Cities across the country tirelessly campaigning, and above all this were still very much still in grief. They informed me that this was the end of their campaigning effort, they were understandably at odds with the world at large, asking themselves "Why have not enough people signed the petition?"

I gave them my word that I would continue the fight which they had bravely started with me. They gave me, and continue to do so, their full blessing and endorsement of my endeavour. I have kept them informed of my progress at every stage.

I embarked on what for me was phase 2 of the operation. I took into account the wishes of Ste's family and removed Ste's name from any future press releases and/or media content. I have referenced Ste on occasions during times since the end of Wilko's Debate, however, this is only to provide a small link to the initial reason for the current campaign.

Further Reading and Press Articles About This Case

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