Finish this knife blight
Since the start of the year, 30 teenagers in England and Wales have been stabbed to death.
Without action, more will die.
Each will leave behind a family who will ask why more could not have been done.
Among those asking that question is Becky Beston, whose 19-year-old son Archie was fatally stabbed in London last year.
Tougher sentences, while welcome, are only part of the solution to this problem.
More needs to be done to educate young people about the dangers of carrying a knife.
But we also need to reverse Tory cuts to youth services and mental health provision.
The Tories are also responsible for allowing the number of police officers to fall by more than 11,000 in the past decade.
How many more innocent young lives will be lost because our politicians have failed to take the problem seriously?
Use your head
The football authorities in England have finally taken action to protect players from the risk of concussion and dementia.
Guidance limits players to 10 “higher force” headers per week in training.
While this measure is welcome, it should have been introduced far earlier.
We have known since the 2002 coroner’s verdict on former West Bromwich Albion striker Jeff Astle of the link between heading heavy footballs and dementia.
Since then the condition has been linked to the deaths of four of England’s 1966 World Cup heroes.
The authorities have taken a step in the right direction but more may need to be done to safeguard this generation of players from the fate of their illustrious predecessors.
She’s trot stuff
Dressage star Charlotte Dujardin yesterday became Britain’s most decorated female Olympian after scooping her sixth Games medal.
Long may this illustrious reign by the queen of the reins continue.
