Five more teens held over 14-year-old's murder

LONDON (Reuters) - Five more teenagers have been arrested over the murder of a 14-year-old boy stabbed outside his east London home, Scotland Yard said on Thursday.

Shaquille Smith died from a stab wound to his abdomen after becoming involved in a fight with a group of youths on August 30 in Hackney.

The five arrested teenagers, all male and aged between 17 and 18, are being held for questioning at an east London police station.

Late on Monday, detectives charged a 17-year-old male youth with Smith's murder, the sixth teenager to be charged with his killing to date.

Smith's 16-year-old sister suffered wounds to her face and neck in the attack but her injuries were not serious.

Smith was one of 26 teenagers to have died violently in the capital this year.

The wave of killings has prompted a police crackdown on young people carrying weapons in London.

On Thursday, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced measures to cut red tape and free up police time in the capital and nine other high knife-crime areas.

From the end of October, officers will be able to call their control room with details of a stop and search of a suspect, rather than filling out lengthy forms.