The mum of a boy who was stabbed to death has told Sky News she feels heard for the first time after the new Labour government vowed to introduce a law in her son’s name.
Ronan Kanda, 16, was killed by Pradjeet Veadhasa and Sukhman Shergill in 2022.
Veadhasa, who had brought a large machete and other blades online, attacked Ronan by mistake as he walked home from a friend’s house.
The teenagers had intended to harm Ronan’s friend, who one of them had owed money to, and fought with on a previous occasion.
Combined, the two attackers were sentenced to 34 years in prison in 2023.
Prabjeet Veadhesa
Sukhman Shergill
But now, Labour have vowed to introduce a law in Ronan’s name cracking down on the sale and possession of dangerous knives.
The government said it would work to tackle “the scourge of serious violence on Britain’s streets”, with an aim to halve knife crime within a decade.
Speaking to Sky News, Ronan’s mum Pooja Kanda said she felt heard for the first time in light of the King’s Speech.
She said: “I feel like someone has listened to me after years of trying to get them to understand what went on with my child’s death.
“It wasn’t just a perpetrator getting up and murdering my child, it was a series of online sales.”
Pooja Kanda speaking to Sky News
Ms Kanda added: “Last year when we were sitting in court, we were told the amount of knives that the perpetrator had bought online… he had bought 25 plus knives from one place.
“I was shocked these things are available. No wonder these crimes are happening. No wonder our streets are unsafe.
“I wish someone had done this before and my son would be here today.”
Ronan’s Law will, Labour said, include a ban on the possession of a wider range of dangerous weapons and introduce a review of online knife sales with tougher enforcement of ID checks.
In Ronan’s case, Veadhasa was able to purchase a knife online in his mother’s name and then pick up the weapon without any process of ID verification.
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The weapons that Veadhasa had purchased online
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Ronan Kanda’s family have suffered the most unimaginable loss. Their campaign to make sure no family endures the same is remarkable.
“If you are a family suffering from the indescribable grief of losing a child due to knife crime, you’re not going to care whether it’s a Labour or Conservative politician who takes action on the issue.
“What you do want is a sense of resolve from political leaders that they take this issue seriously and want to do what they can to reduce knife crime.”
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The prime minister added: “I feel strongly about this. We have to work together to try to reduce knife crime.
“That’s why Labour will introduce Ronan’s Law and take strong action to ban online sales of machetes, zombie knives and ninja swords and put an end to knives being sold to children.”