The mother of a young man stabbed to death with a Rambo knife has accused the Scottish Government of “dragging its heels” on plans to tackle a “knife crime emergency”.
Lisa Petrie met with First Minister John Swinney and Justice Secretary Neil Gray on Monday over her campaign to tackle rising deadly youth knife crime in memory of her son. John McNab, 22, was chased down and stabbed with a hunting knife by a teenager in Leith on September 2, 2025. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was on bail for a separate knife attack on Portobello Beach months earlier.
Campaign for bleed kits and tighter knife sales
In the wake of John’s murder, Lisa has campaigned tirelessly for the rollout of life-saving bleed kits across Scotland and tighter security around the sale of knives in shops. She had also demanded answers over why his killer had been allowed to roam the streets on bail.
Following the meeting, Lisa said it “didn’t seem” like the Scottish Government planned to take action soon. “Victims of violent crime are being failed,” the 45-year-old told the Record. “There was no real commitment or timeframe for the roll out of bleed kits or tighter security measures around the sale of knives.
Government response and wider context
“The Scottish Government is dragging its heels. More young people will die while we wait for decisions on potentially life-saving measures to be implemented. We are frustrated and we need action. I am determined John’s not going to be a statistic.” She added that families are being let down by the decision to grant bail to offenders with a history of weapon-related crimes.
It comes after Swinney had last week backed the rollout of bleed kits in community settings across Scotland during his Programme for Government announcement, which promised to continue working with organisations tackling youth violence.
Justice Secretary Neil Gray said: “My thoughts continue to be with Lisa Petrie for her unimaginable loss and I am very grateful to her for meeting with me and the First Minister. Lisa has been tireless in her efforts to educate young people on the dangers of carrying knives since the loss of her son John, and I commend her for all she continues to do.
“Lisa’s work has inspired our commitment to introduce bleed kits to community settings, and her personal testimony to young people about the loss of John is supporting work to prevent knife crime from happening in the first place. We will continue to work with partners to tackle and prevent youth violence and, in particular, knife crime through education programmes and by supporting organisations and initiatives such as No Knives, Better Lives, the Youth Navigators project, and the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme.”
John is one of four young males who lost their lives due to senseless knife violence on Scotland’s streets in the last two years. Kory McCrimmon, 16, was stabbed in the heart after a confrontation in Greenfield Park in Glasgow’s east end on May 31, 2024. A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was detained for five years after admitting culpable homicide.
Amen Teklay, 15, died from a stab wound after he was found injured in Glasgow’s Maryhill in March 2025. Two teenage boys, aged 16 and 17, were cleared of his murder following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Weeks later, 16-year-old Kayden Moy was stabbed to death at Irvine Beach in Ayrshire in May. His killers Cole Turley, 18, Jay Stewart, 19, and a 15-year-old boy were jailed for life. It later emerged that two of the teenagers were under the supervision of social services at the time of the murder and Stewart had previous criminal convictions for possessing a knife and a machete.
