Lisa Petrie is right to ask why her son’s killer was allowed to roam the streets.
John McNab was a young man with his whole life ahead of him. But at the age of just 22 his life was wiped out when a teenager stabbed him in the street.
Yesterday, a statue, the Knife Angel, was unveiled at the spot where John was killed a year ago as a monument to all victims of knife crime in Scotland. John’s mum, Lisa Petrie, was there to witness the artwork’s official launch and speaks eloquently in today’s Daily Record about the need for action on knife crime.
She has campaigned tirelessly for bleed kits to be installed around the country to help victims survive. Her work will save lives and for that we should all be grateful. But Lisa also wants to know what is being done by our political leaders to tackle the rising tide of knife violence.
The teenager who killed her son was out walking the streets, despite being charged with an earlier knife attack. Lisa wants a fatal accident inquiry into John’s death so that the full circumstances of the killer’s release into the community can be examined.
It is widely accepted our overcrowded jails do not have room for everyone accused of a crime to be remanded in custody. But when a teenager has already attacked somebody with a knife, it is surely a matter of public safety to make sure they are not simply put back into the community to attack again.
Too many young men carry and use knives, but the process of dealing with these dangerous individuals is not tough enough.
Lisa is right to ask why her son’s killer was allowed to roam the streets. The teenager should have been in a secure unit – not free to kill.
FM’s food cap quest is a folly
Parts of John Swinney’s Programme for Government are welcome and worthy of support. Capping bus fares at £2 is a measure that will ease the pressure felt by low-income families.
Slashing NHS boards from 14 to two should have been done years ago and the First Minister’s instincts on fewer councils are also sound. But his plan for a supermarket price cap looks increasingly ridiculous.
Swinney came up with the gimmick during the heat of an election campaign and it looked ill-considered even then. It looks legally questionable and the SNP government could end up wasting more public money on a doomed court battle.
Swinney will have to challenge vested interests if he is to get his way on rewiring the Scottish state. His political capital should be spent in this area, not in a pointless battle with the UK Government on price caps.
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