Scotland's Justice Secretary Neil Gray has said he would consider reviving a knife amnesty after four teenagers were convicted in two fatal stabbings in Irvine and Edinburgh. The Scottish Violence Reduction Unit reports a 15% rise in knife possession among 11- to 15-year-olds between 2019/20 and 2024/25. Gray emphasised prevention and diversionary investment, while victims' families and opposition parties called for tougher bail rules and a renewed strategy on violent youth crime.
Justice Secretary Open To Knife Amnesty After Teenagers Convicted In Two Fatal Stabbings
Kayden Moy was murdered in a knife attack on Irvine beach last year [Police Scotland]
Scotland's Justice Secretary, Neil Gray, has said he would consider re-running a national "bin a knife" amnesty after four teenagers were convicted in two separate fatal stabbings that happened last year in Irvine and Edinburgh. The comments come amid rising concern about knife carrying among young people and fresh calls for stronger prevention and bail measures.
Convictions and Cases
All four youths convicted in the two cases were aged 18 or under. Jay Stewart, 18, and a 15-year-old (who cannot be named for legal reasons) were found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Kayden Moy following a confrontation between rival groups on Irvine Beach on 17 May 2025. A third defendant, Cole Turley, 18, pleaded guilty to Moy's murder before the trial began at the High Court in Glasgow.
In a separate case, a 17-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years after being convicted of the unprovoked murder of 22-year-old John McNab on Great Junction Street in Leith on 2 September. The same teenager also admitted the earlier attempted murder of a 16-year-old on Portobello Beach months before; McNab's killer was on bail for that earlier attack at the time of the murder.
John McNab was murdered in an unprovoked attack on Great Junction Street in Edinburgh [Lisa Petrie]
Amnesty, Prevention and Statistics
Gray told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show that ministers and police are discussing a range of measures and that a knife amnesty is one option under consideration if law enforcement and partners believe it would help. He emphasised the government's priority is prevention: ensuring young people 'never pick up a knife in the first place' through diversionary activities and targeted investment.
Statistics from the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU) show a 15% increase in recorded knife possession among 11- to 15-year-olds between 2019/20 and 2024/25. The SVRU was originally created to respond to a wave of knife crime in the 2000s and has been credited with reducing violence when adequately funded.
Previous voluntary amnesties collected large numbers of weapons: the 2006 national campaign saw 12,645 items (including machetes, swords, cleavers, bayonets and axes) deposited in more than 200 special bins at police stations, while a local operation called 'Operation Blade' in the former Strathclyde area in 1993 collected about 4,500 weapons.
These blades were among the thousands of weapons surrendered to police in 2008 [PA Media]
Bail, Bleed Kits and Political Responses
McNab's mother, Lisa Petrie, has urged tougher bail restrictions for people accused of inflicting serious knife injuries. Gray said guidance on bail conditions is kept under 'constant review' but noted that setting bail remains a judicial responsibility. The SNP also backed Petrie's campaign to increase public access to bleed kits and included it as a manifesto pledge ahead of the Holyrood election.
Opposition parties called for firmer action. Scottish Labour's Pauline McNeill said the government must accept responsibility for the rise in violent incidents and urgently publish a renewed strategy on youth violence. Scottish Conservative spokesman Stephen Kerr accused ministers of abandoning a zero-tolerance approach and warned that cuts to diversionary programmes and the SVRU have weakened prevention.
Voices From The Community
'Many young people who carry knives do so out of fear and peer pressure,' said former gang member Kevin Martin, now working with a Glasgow youth organisation. Martin warned that post-Covid funding cuts and the loss of community and school-based outreach have reduced proactive prevention work and risk undoing earlier progress.
Gray reiterated that the government is focused on prevention, diversion and ensuring the justice system delivers clear deterrents. He said the option of a knife amnesty would be discussed with police and local partners as part of a broader strategy to tackle youth knife crime.
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