Money promised by the Government to help tackle knife crime covers just a fraction of the cuts to police funding, according a Labour councillor.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in his latest Spring Statement that an extra £100 million would be made available to confront this “menace”.

The money was welcomed by authorities across England and Wales, though it was viewed by many as insufficient given the funding cuts in recent years.

Cllr Tom Miller, who is responsible for community safety at Brent Council, said: “We are pleased to see extra money from government going into knife crime prevention, a key priority for Brent Labour.

“However, the money announced is less than an eighth of the austerity cuts the Government have made to the Metropolitan Police alone.”

He added that a “mix of prevention and enforcement” is the only way to keep people safe on the streets.

According to the National Audit Office, police funding fell by 19 per cent in real terms between 2010-11 and 2018-19.

And officer numbers have fallen by around 20,000 since 2010.

The extra money will be used across one year, though longer-term support for police services is expected to form part of the Spending Review.

The announcement comes after two 17-year olds were killed in knife attacks in east London and Greater Manchester.

“The recent surge in knife-crime represents a personal tragedy for the scores of families of victims. We must, and we will, stamp out this menace,” he said.

He added that “action is needed now” to “deliver a wider cross-agency response to this epidemic”.

The majority of the funding will go to the seven forces where violence is the highest.