Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Prime Minister Theresa May (Image: GETTY)
In a “testy” exchange, he asserted that current spending did “not go far enough”, according to the Daily Telegraph. His intervention comes just months after it was announced extra £1billion would be allocated to help police combat record levels of knife crime. Chancellor Philip Hammond however suggested the police “prioritise” the resources they do have and focus on “real-time” cases over historic investigations.
However, Mr Javid argued bigger changes need to be made to prevent more deaths.
He proposed a major expansion of stop and search powers by changing guidance to give police more freedom to look for knives.
Police officers have been requesting emergency Section 60 powers to be rolled out across the country, which would allow them to search suspects without needing specific grounds.
Mr Javid is expected to announce his plans within days.
