Stephen Metcalfe, MP for South Basildon & East Thurrock, recently met with Mrs Julie Taylor at Basildon’s “Stop the Hate” conference where Mrs Taylor spoke on her determination to tackle knife crime and her campaign to distribute bleed control kits.
Stephen Metcalfe organised a conference in Basildon on Friday 7 July to “Stop the Hate”. Mrs Julie Taylor, the grandmother of Mr Liam Taylor who was tragically murdered in a knife attack in 2020, attended the event to highlight the work that she is doing to distribute bleed control kits and to reinforce the message that we must love and forgive, not hate.
Mrs Taylor has led a fundraising campaign for public-access bleed control kits which contain a tourniquet, bandages and foil blanket. Through “The Liam Taylor Legacy” crowdfunding page, bleed control kits have been funded and installed at venues across Essex.
In May 2023, Mrs Taylor joined Essex MPs and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, Roger Hirst, in Parliament for Knife Crime Awareness Week to discuss how to further tackle knife crime.
Stephen Metcalfe said: ‘I am very grateful to Julie Taylor for sharing her tragic story and for her attendance at the “Stop the Hate” conference on Friday and I fully support her campaign for more bleed control kits in order to minimise the terrible consequences of knife crime. The bleed control kits are funded by the generosity of the public so donations are much appreciated. Overall, the message from Julie was clear – we must act with love, not hate, and we cannot accept the normalisation of carrying knives.’
