Anti-knife crime campaigners block Westminster bridge as man stabbed to death in east London

Anti knife crime protesters backed by mothers of knife crime victims demonstrate in central London to call on the government to do more in tackle youth violence. (Picture: PA)

Anti-knife crime campaigners have blocked Westminster Bridge calling for action over recent bloodshed.

Dubbed #OperationShutdown, supporters gathered near Downing Street with demands including a Cobra meeting to tackle the surge in violent crime in recent years.

The demonstrations came as police investigated the death of a man in his 30s who had been stabbed in Stoke Newington on Wednesday evening.

Campaigners spent just under two hours in Whitehall before holding a minute’s silence near the Houses of Parliament in memory of Pc Keith Palmer, who was murdered by a terrorist while on duty in 2017, and then moving to the bridge.

The group which contains bereaved parents and family members of victims of violet crimes, are calling on the British Government to do more to tackle knife and gun crime. (EPA)

The action came after extensive disruption caused by a separate environmental protest, which has seen demonstrations on the Tube network, at Parliament Square, Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and Marble Arch.

The organisers of #OperationShutdown said in a statement: "We are taking this extreme form of civil disobedience as Her Majesty's Government are yet to give this crisis enough care, or the proportionate attention it deserves, or allocate substantial measures and funding to effectively tackle this head-on, as a matter of emergency - hence we demand a Cobra now."

Anti-knife crime campaigners converge on Downing street in central London to protest to call for action over recent bloodshed (AFP/Getty Images)

Grieving parents including Tracey Hanson, whose 21-year-old son Josh was murdered at a bar in west London in 2015, took part.

One of the organisers, Lucy Martindale - whose cousin was fatally stabbed, said: "We would like a Cobra meeting now. We don't understand why Cobra hasn't been called.

The demonstration, dubbed #OperationShutdown, sees supporters gathering in Whitehall asking for a Cobra meeting. (PA)

"If there is a terrorist attack and one person is killed there is a Cobra. Several people daily are being killed on our streets, why is this not being treated as the national emergency that it is?"

The group is also calling for an independent investigation into school exclusions, better rehabilitation of prisoners to stop them going on to kill, and for full jail terms to be served for murder and manslaughter.