A Waltham Forest councillor hoping to tackle knife crime said she is "disappointed" by Sadiq Khan's response to her letter.

Selina Seesunkur, a Conservative councillor on Waltham Forest Council wrote to the Home Secretary Sajid Javid and London mayor Sadiq Khan in April. She asked them what they were doing to tackle knife crime in Waltham Forest and London.

She said after receiving the responses from both politicians: “It is disappointing that Sadiq Khan repeatedly blames the Government, as opposed to taking full responsibility for an epidemic which is claiming so many lives in London.

“I am pleased to see the Home Secretary’s commitment to tackling knife crime."

The Home Secretary invited the Larkswood councillor, Waltham Forest Conservative leader Cllr Alan Siggers, deputy group leader Tim James and Chingford and Woodford Green MP Iain Duncan Smith to discuss the issue in person.

Mr Javid in his response letter referred to his speech on September 15, when he set out his personal commitment to violent crime and promised to increase police funding by £970 million by April 2019.

The home secretary stressed the importance of ‘stop and search’ measures and explained new Knife Prevention Orders had been introduced as part of the Offensive Weapons Bill.

He also announced the piloting of a scheme in which offenders who have served a custodial sentence will be tagged.

He detailed the use of police body cameras to instil public confidence and emphasised the need for greater government funding. A new £200 million Youth Endowment Fund has also been set up to support youths and children at risk over the next 10 years.

Cllr Seesunkur said: “I am glad I wrote the letters if only to see all the actions being taken, this is very reassuring. I hope residents can take some comfort from the responses.

“I appreciate my letters were very focused on the police and judicial service, and I know issues pertaining to knife crime are much wider, but I wrote these letters in response to feedback I had received through speaking to people as a local councillor.”

The councillor said she previously worked for the London Borough of Hackney “when it was still infamous for its murder mile” and said she would “never have thought for one-minute” that violent crime would spread across London many years after Hackney had overcome its reputation.