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Last Updated: 12:54AM BST 28/05/2008

Robert Knox, an 18-year-old actor, became the 28th teenager to be murdered this year when he was stabbed to death outside a nightclub in Kent. Here, his grandmother, Margaret Knox, 76, speaks about his death and the youth crime epidemic that is blighting Britain.
"Society in Britain today is spiralling out of control. Knife crime is not an inner city problem, it's everywhere and something must be done. Enough is enough.

People need to be taught respect from a young age, at home, to set the foundations. It shouldn't be up to schools to instil respect, it's too late by then. It must start with the parents at home, when children are babies and have just opened their eyes.

It is hard work for parents. It is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is no rest. You have to put your life on hold.

But the trouble is, people today want an easy life. Any idiot can have a baby but bringing them up well is tough. There are babies being born today to people who are children themselves. They challenge the teachers, challenge the police – it's always someone else's responsibility.

The young generation must give their children discipline so that they grow up knowing not to carry knives and guns. I want every parent who has a teenager to take note of what they are carrying, search them, just try, at least try to put an end to this violence.

Meanwhile, the police and the Government must start getting tough with those carrying weapons. Why can't people be stopped and searched? If you have nothing to hide, you don't mind. We've got to start putting people into prison for carrying weapons. Action must start now, not tomorrow, not next week, but now to prevent anyone else suffering like my family. We have been given a life sentence. Whatever Robbie's killer gets, it will never be as bad as our pain and suffering.

Every birthday, every Christmas, every time we meet up, we will be wondering what Robbie would have been like and doing. I've taught all my family to work hard and then they'll achieve something. That was the ethic engrained in Robbie. He was the most wonderful boy – intelligent, thoughtful, sweet, always helping others.

But that's the thing – he was just an innocent bystander and now he's dead, gone from our lives. It was because he was so loving, it cost him his life."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2033803/Robert-Knox's-grandmother-Parents-must-try-to-put-an-end-to-this-violence.html

Last Updated: 2:31PM BST 27/05/2008
An unemployed man charged with the murder of Robert Knox, the young actor stabbed to death in Kent on Saturday, has been remanded in custody after appearing in court.
27 May 08: A man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with the murder of 18 year old Rob Knox in Sidcup in the early hours of Saturday.

Karl Bishop, 21, from Sidcup, has also been charged with five counts of wounding another five people - including four teenagers and one man in his 20s - on the same night.

He was remanded in custody until September 2 following an appearance at Bexleyheath Magistrates Court this morning.

Harry Potter actor Robert, 18, was fatally wounded while trying to protect his 17-year-old brother Jamie during a fight outside the Metro Bar in Sidcup.

It has been reported that Robert went to the same primary school as the man accused of murder.

As Robert's friends and family struggle to come to terms with their grief, hundreds of messages paying tribute to the teenager have been posted on the social networking site Facebook.

Alice Walker, who said she was with Robert on the night he was killed, wrote: "We were having such a good night. All of us were together just having the usual jokes, not a care in the world."

Reading University student Cathy Allen wrote: "I went to primary school wih both these people, I can't believe something like this has happened."

Robert, who had been acting since the age of 11, completed filming on the latest Harry Potter movie last Tuesday and had already signed to appear in the next film.

His other credits include roles in the Bill, the 2004 film King Arthur, and alongside Nicholas Lyndhurst in the BBC sitcom After You've Gone.

Robert's parents today spoke of their grief as they attempt to deal with the aftermath of their son's death.

His father Colin said:"It's impossible to convey the sadness and loss that we all feel but we now realise Rob touched many people's lives.

"Rob always put everyone before himself, was always the first person to stand up against wrong. He achieved so much in his short life."

Mr Knox, 55, also called for tougher action against gangs carrying knives.

He said: "With knives there are no winners and only losers. If you are a person who carries a knife, think about the consequences.

"There's a lot of fear out there and basically someone has to change the way we think."

The victim's grandmother, Margaret Knox, said parents must take responsibility for instilling respect in their children, and called on the Government to "start getting tough" with those who carry weapons by jailing them.

Mrs Knox, 76, said: "Society in Britain today is spiralling out of control. Knife crime is not an inner city problem, it's everywhere and something must be done. Enough is enough."

Speaking about a zero tolerance approach to targeting teenagers, she added: "Why can't people be stopped and searched? If you have nothing to hide, you don't mind.

"It's only those who carry knives that don't like it. And if more people are caught and sent to prison, people will stop doing it. Action must start now, not tomorrow, not next week, but now."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2037324/Robert-Knox-murder-Man-remanded-in-custody.html