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Brown backs Liverpool Echo’s anti-crime campaign

The Liverpool Echo has claimed the backing of Prime Minister Gordon Brown in its campaign to eradicate gun crime on the streets of Liverpool.

The campaign, Liverpool Unites, which has called for an extra 1,000 police on the streets of the City, was launched by the newspaper in response to the shooting of 11-year-old Rhys Jones on his way home from playing football.

The campaign is also calling for tough new laws to keep guns out of the region.

The paper has distributed 150,000 purple ribbons for the people of Liverpool to wear and show their solidarity against gun crime following the killing of the 11-year-old.

Communities

Editor of the Liverpool Echo, Andrew Edwards, said: ‘He (Brown) realises how empowering it is for communities to make a stand against gun crime. It sends out a far more powerful message to criminals and shows that the people of Liverpool have had enough.

‘It’s a difficult one for the government to achieve but we want an extra 1000 police on our streets. The Met has increased its force from 26,000 to 32,000, and we’d like to make it happen here.”

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Edwards is hoping that the campaign will gain momentum across the country.

‘If we’re successful in increasing police numbers, we hope other cities will look at this too.’

There are plans to start a charity from the campaign with funds going towards a community centre in the area where Rhys Jones lived.

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