Can a crackdown on ‘zombie knives’ stop stabbings in the West Midlands?
Plus, summer finally arrives
Hello Patchers — here is your Monday briefing.
The Labour Party leader has vowed to bring an end to the sale of terrifying weapons, citing the murders of Ronan Kanda and Shawn Seesahai, both of whom died in Wolverhampton in the past two years. Today’s big story is about knife crime in the West Midlands and the efforts to bring it to an end.
Looking back: Rachel Segal Hamilton wowed readers at the weekend with her deep dive inside our city’s world class photography collection – sadly, much of it is confined to cardboard boxes. One Dispatch-member commented: “This kind of article is exactly why the Dispatch matters. I had no idea about this.” So if you haven’t read it already, make sure you do today:
6 months strong: Joshi Herrmann, who runs the company that set up the Dispatch, wrote for us yesterday, on the six-month anniversary of launching our paid content for members. “Our members are funding journalism that exposes corruption, spreads good ideas around the region and celebrates distinctive local culture,” Joshi wrote. “Within the space of six months, this publication already plays a vital role in the West Midlands and that will only grow in the years ahead.”
Thank you so much to the ten members who joined yesterday. If, like them, you believe Birmingham needs serious journalism, please join today.
Looking ahead: The next in our series of election features is out on Wednesday – we take you to Sutton Coldfield where a tighter competition than usual is bringing some, er, unexpected figures out of the woodwork. See: Bob Geldof wading in with an endorsement (including the extraordinary line: "I have no bloody idea where Sutton Coldfield is"). On Thursday we have a profile of the man who is making West Midlands Labour sweat and on Saturday a story about the role Birmingham played in the slave trade (and its abolition).
The deadline to apply for the full-time staff writer role on The Dispatch is Sunday 7 July. If you are a talented writer with experience in journalism, apply now to be part of one of the most exciting media companies in the country! Details here.
Here comes the sun
🌥️Tuesday: Consistent summer finally arrives. Warm, very warm. Stay hydrated. Max 27°C.
🌥️Wednesday: Sunnier in the AM. Hot and cloudy for the rest of the day. Max 27°C.
🌥️Thursday: Slightly cooler with sunnier intervals. Max 22°C.
🌥️Friday: Sunny and cloudy all day. A now-and-then breeze. Max 20°C.
🌥️Weekend: Less hot than the week but by no means cool. Cloudy and close. Max 20°C.
We get our weather from the Met Office.
Big story: ‘I will ban zombie knives’ – Keir Starmer pledges knife crime crackdown
Top line: The West Midlands has been dubbed the Knife Crime Capital of the UK as the region with the highest annual rate of crimes involving a blade. Sir Keir Starmer has now promised to ban “machetes, zombie knives and other vicious weapons that have no purpose other than brutality” if Labour wins the election.
Context: In April, the Office for National Statistics published concerning figures that show the rate of knife crime in the region has increased since 2022. There were 180 offences involving a blade per 100,000 people in 2023 – the highest in the country. For comparison, the rate in London was 165.

The latest incident: On Thursday, a man was found on Erdington High Street with serious stab wounds and taken to hospital with life threatening injuries. Osama Adam, 31, of Johnson Road, Birmingham, has been charged with attempted murder, possession of a knife and possession of an offensive weapon. He will appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 19 July. The incident comes just weeks after newly reelected Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster joined officers in Erdington as part of a national campaign to crack down on knife crime.
Police action: The Home Office-funded Violence Reduction Partnership was launched in 2019 to tackle the causes of violence that put young people at risk. It includes measures such as school workshops and putting youth workers in A&E departments.
Data check: Most people committing knife crime in the region are over the age of thirty, while the second largest age group are under 18. This shocking fact was recently highlighted when two 12-year-old boys were sentenced for murdering 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai with a machete in November. In a statement to the press earlier this month, his mother Maneshwary Seesahai said:
“Shawn was such a loving son, he was so well-mannered, looked after us, was loving to everyone and very protective. Twelve-year-old kids should be at home doing school work and then going to bed.”

Calls to ban online blades: Last week, West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke repeated calls for a ban on online knife sales. Speaking on BBC One’s Politics Midlands, he also said it should be illegal for marketers to give the dangerous products names like ninja, zombie and Rambo. He welcomed the move by online retailer DNA Leisure to stop selling knives or swords, but insisted that the government needed to do more.
Easy to get: After a quick Google search, we were shocked to find out how easy it is to buy serious weaponry. Swords and machetes with names like snakeeye, samurai and ninja are indeed purchasable at a click for as low as £40.
Writing in the Express and Star today, Sir Keir Starmer has promised a ban if Labour gets into power on 4 July. He says that if “big tech companies” refuse to comply, the government will “take them on as well”. While Starmer’s article doesn’t explain how he will do this, Labour’s knife crime action plan states that tech executives who allow knife sales in their online shops will face tough criminal sanctions.
Photo of the week
A lesser-seen, bottoms up angle of Ozzy the bull snapped by Amanda Slater.
Brum in brief
🤑Venture capitalists eye Brum: Venture capitalists and private equity representatives have met the WMCA mayor to discuss how to unlock greater investment in the region. In a meeting convened by British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) businesses talked with Richard Parker about how to build on the £300m invested in the region in 2023. "My approach is all about delivery. We need to make the West Midlands the best place in the UK to do business,” said Parker. Full details.
💬Yakoob says sorry: Akhmed Yakoob, the high-profile independent candidate for Birmingham Ladywood, has apologised after comments he made on a podcast were labelled ‘misogynistic’. Speaking on the Minted Minds podcast, he discussed masculinity and men and womens’ roles alongside guests including Hall Green candidate Shakeel Afsar. Among other comments, he said “It’s natural for men to be attracted to females, so keep our queens at home.” He has since said he is “mortified” and the tone of the discussion “represents everything I stand against”. Yakoob took an insurgent third place in the last WMCA mayoral election. Full story.
🎅Destination Lapland: For those sweltering in this week's heatwave and already craving the coolness of the winter it feels like we only just escaped then don’t fear: easyjet have you covered. This winter the budget airline has announced it will start direct flights to Lapland (via Rovaniemi in Finland) for those wanting crisp, cold tundras and, of course, a chance of meeting Santa Claus. Let’s all hope the airport queues have subsided by then — The Dispatch wouldn’t want to be standing outside in December. More details.
Home of the week
This three-bedroom townhouse in the JQ comes with exposed brick, a roof terrace, and is a stone’s throw from St Paul’s Square. It’s on the market for £600,000.
Media picks
🎞️While reporting for an upcoming Dispatch article, Kate had the pleasure of meeting Professor Robert Beckford, the theologian and filmmaker who lives in Birmingham. His latest documentary charts the roots of the church’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade in the 18th Century – and the potential for reconciliation. You can rent the film here and read his recent article about the subject here.
📰We enjoyed this essay by Ross Wilson on the poet Louis MacNeice who lived in Birmingham from 1930-35 “MacNeice came of age as a poet in Birmingham and, to some extent at least, came down to earth a little through living and loving and working in that city.”
Things to do
Tuesday
👩👧If you’re a mother who is creative, or wants to get more creative, Stryx in JQ is hosting a support and meeting space for those who want to talk about their creativity alongside their caring role. Full deets.
🎶From Tuesday, Brummies can head to The Rep to hear the musical story of the Windrush Generation and reggae and how this wonderful genre took the world by storm. Tickets.
Wednesday
🖼️Technically sold out (though there is a note to email directly to ask for waitlist/returns) but we thought it would be worthwhile adding that a talk on the work of the unparalleled Claudette Johnson is on at lunchtime at the Barber Institute. Details — and email away!
🏭We can’t believe we’ve missed this recommendation previously. At Digbeth’s Grand Union, you can catch the Love is Real exhibition, about the ongoing compulsion to create. More here. (Note, a reader has told us they did not find the gallery to be disabled-accessible).
Thursday
📽️The first day of the Birmingham Indian Film Festival kicks off, celebrating the subcontinent’s impact on the local area. Featuring British Asian films and cinema from across the South Asian diaspora, expect premieres of feature films, documentaries and shorts. Programme at a click.
🤘For fans of stadium rock, you can catch Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters at Villa Park this Thursday evening. Tickets still available for those who want to rock out to Everlong and Learn to Fly. Full details here.