Disagreement on Ipswich knife crime solution continues as MP Jack Abbott addresses opposition letter from Ian Fisher and Sam Murray

Disagreement on how to deal with knife crime in a Suffolk town continues after an MP addressed a letter from the opposition calling for a meeting.

The letter was sent on October 29 by Cllrs Ian Fisher and Sam Murray on behalf of Ipswich’s Conservative Group and was addressed to the town’s new MP, Jack Abbott, and Cllr John Cook, the borough council’s lead for communities.

It called for a cross-party meeting to discuss how to better work together to address knife crime ‘to the benefit of Ipswich residents’.

It read: “There is a common ground, with a desire from us all to improve the safety of our residents.

“Collectively we represent the entirety of Ipswich, in some capacity, and as such we bear a responsibility to the residents of our town.”

Recently, Cllr Murray and Mr Abbott have butted heads on how best to address knife crime in the town.

On the one hand, Mr Abbott believes a Suffolk-wide coalition between councils and the police should be created to tackle the issue — this would be an up-to-date and expanded version of the current Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs), which would give the police more agency in addressing challenges.

Addressing the letter, Mr Abbott said: “I’m due to have a meeting with Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner about how we positively and proactively take forward a Suffolk Knife Crime Coalition.

“I will, of course, continue to liaise with key stakeholders and am happy to update other interested parties too when appropriate.”

On the other, Cllr Murray thinks an Ipswich-specific strategy should be created to address the different needs of the town compared to more rural places across the county.

Previously, Mr Abbott said an Ipswich-only approach would not work as the borough council was not responsible for knife crime.

But Cllr Murray argued CSPs already in place did not do enough to address the problems and warned the town was beginning to be known for ‘having more bleed kits than defibrillators’.

The letter added: “We do not wish for this to be watered down by the inclusion of a wider geographical area, especially a Suffolk-wide approach.

“We hope that if we are all moving in the same direction with an Ipswich focus, we can finally achieve something tangible that the public really needs.”