Usher brings anti-knife crime team to London

American singer Usher has pledged to bring his pioneering youth charity to London to help tackle knife crime.

Between sold-out shows at the O2, the R&B star met 30 teenagers at Fulham's Brunswick Club for Young People to discuss the problems they face.

He now hopes to establish a permanent London base for his New Look Foundation to mentor teenagers from impoverished areas.

Usher, 32, brought three of his New Look mentors - once-troubled youngsters who came through his programme and now help others - to the charity club on Saturday for a workshop which included team-building sessions and motivational talks.

He told the Standard: "This is one of many workshops I hope to hold and an opportunity to introduce the kids here to our programme. We spoke about teenage pregnancy, gang violence, incarceration, isolation - and one very specific thing was knife crime. It's something the kids kept bringing up and obviously it's a huge issue here.

"The programme is about finding the root of the issue and addressing that, and hopefully motivating change. We would love to set up a permanent presence here in London. I really hope London is receptive, as this really does work. I think that us giving youth the responsibility and the chance to have a voice makes a difference."

Figures last month showed knife crime has risen in London by eight per cent year on year, though total stabbing injuries fell. Police, who have vowed to crack down on gangland youth violence, said the increase may have been due in part to a rise in stop-and-search operations against gangs, which caught more people carrying knives.

Police are seeking witnesses after a 17-year-old boy was stabbed in Warburton Street, Hackney, at 10.30 last night. He is in hospital, but his injuries are said not to be life-threatening.