A NEW law to introduce mandatory prison sentences for 16 and 17-year-olds wielding knives has been approved by MPs.

The amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will see teenagers jailed for at least four months for aggravated knife crime.

The move, proposed by Enfield North MP Nick de Bois and championed by the Harrow Times newspaper and its sister paper Enfield Independent, will also introduce mandatory four-month training orders for under 16s convicted of the same offence and adds to six-month jail terms for adults already included in the bill.

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke last night praised the efforts of Mr de Bois in getting the penalties added to a “major reform of the criminal justice system”.

He said: “The Government are determined to get the message clearly across to the public that knife crime will not be tolerated.

“We wish to stop people believing that knife crime will not be punished properly in the criminal justice system.”

Mr de Bois was praised for his persistence in getting the amendment accepted, backed by the Don't Carry, Don't Kill campaign launched by the Harrow Times and the Enfield Independent.

Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East, was also a vocal supporter of the campaign, working with other MPs to put pressure on Mr Clarke, Home Secretary Theresa May, and Prime Minister David Cameron to back a change in the law.

The bill was approved by MPs last night, and will now pass to the House of Lords for further scrutiny before it can be passed into law.