TOUGHER sentences for 16 and 17-year-olds caught wielding a knife are a “step in the right direction”, the Mayor of London has said.

Boris Johnson praised the Enfield Independent's Don't Carry Don't Kill campaign, which pushed for mandatory jail terms for young people convicted of knife crime.

Last week, Ken Clarke yielded to mounting pressure, and accepted the case spearheaded by Enfield North MP Nick de Bois that sentencing guidelines needed to be toughened up.

Mr Johnson said: “I am very supportive, this is one of the issues that I have become quite tough on as I've got older.

“We really need to make sure there is a powerful deterrent from carrying knives, people need to understand there will be serious punishments.

“I care about this issue a great deal, and this is an issue that is going in the right direction.”

The amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill is due to be debated tomorrow, before it heads to the House of Lords for further scrutiny. The Bill could be passed into law next early next year.