EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella to help knife crime campaign

LONDON (Reuters) - Former EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, whose brother Ben was stabbed to death two years ago, is to head a government assessment of schemes aimed at bringing down knife crime.

She will attend projects taking place throughout the country and tell the Home Office later this year which ones she thinks are the most successful.

Home Secretary Theresa May said in a statement: "The tragic loss of life we've seen on our streets, like the death of Ben Kinsella, is unacceptable and we need to help young people stay safe by ensuring they know the dangers of carrying and using knives.

"We want Brooke to take a look at projects currently working to stop knife crime, to meet with young people on these courses and tell us which schemes are really making an impact."

Kinsella will start her visits next month.

Her 16-year-old brother was stabbed 11 times on a night out in Holloway, north London as he celebrated the end of his GCSE exams.

(Reporting by Chloe Wells; Editing by Steve Addison)