Just 10 London MPs attended a Commons debate on knife crime – despite public concern over a spate of teenage killings.

The vast majority of the capital’s 74 elected MPs said they had made other plans or had meetings to attend, though many were reluctant to go into details.

The Evening Standard is campaigning for a five-point plan to protect teenagers from knives. One key demand – for fewer cautions and more prosecutions when youngsters are caught with knives – has been embraced by Gordon Brown.

The rest of the 646 MPs from around the country were even thinner on the ground on a sunny Thursday afternoon when there were no compulsory votes. At times in the debate, the number of MPs on all sides of the chamber fell to just 12.

One London MP with a good excuse for not attending was Jon Cruddas, whowas taking part in an Operation Blunt exercise with police in his Dagenham constituency, which involved talking to youngsters about the dangers of knives and asking them about their experiences.

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