Deadly Knife Attacks Shock Britain 

A spate of murders overtook Brexit on the political agenda this week and forced the government to defend police funding. 

Photographer: Ian Waldie/Getty Images

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Colin Spash watched as his 11-year-old daughter, Lily, bent down and added her small bouquet of red roses to the pile of flowers. Hand-written notes, damp from the light London rain, were scattered across the colorful display. One read simply: “You did not deserve this.”

In a children’s playground just steps away, another victim of a fatal knife attack in the British capital had bled to death. Jodie Chesney was 17 years old, a proud Scout and model student before her murder a week ago woke a country up to an epidemic that’s now dominating the political agenda.