London's Mayor says a new study shows the poorest communities in London are worst impacted by youth violence.

Poverty, unemployment, and poor mental health among young people were all linked to higher levels of violence, research from City Hall found.

Inner London has the worst struggle with youth attacks – Westminster, Southwark, Lambeth, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Camden, and Hackney were among the most violent boroughs in the city.

But outer London also faces significant problems, with particularly high levels of youth violence in Haringey, Enfield, Brent and Croydon.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan today called on the Government to reverse cuts to youth services, and devolve more powers to City Hall to combat the problem.

Speaking at a youth club in Bermondsey, the Mayor said: “There are still some who say that to acknowledge this link between poverty, deprivation and crime is somehow to excuse criminality and to let the criminals off the hook. I say this is dangerous rubbish.”

He added: “The sad reality is the violence we’re seeing on our streets today is an appalling side-effect of increasing inequality and alienation caused by years of government austerity and neglect.”

A map showing the rates of youth violence in different London boroughs

Mr Khan today announced that London's violence reduction unit will fund more after school clubs, support for young people and parents facing domestic violence, and training for youth workers in the capital.

The Mayor will also support schools to reduce exclusions, and help children in the transition from primary to secondary.

Children who are excluded from school are twice as likely to carry a knife as their peers, according to government data.

Mr Khan also announced £360,000 funding for youth programmes over the summer holidays,  to help keep 3,500 children off the streets and away from crime.

But Conservative assembly member Susan Hall said the Mayor was failing to use his powers to close the inequality gap.

She said: “There can be no doubt that the link between poverty and violent crime is real and desperately needs addressing.”

But Ms Hall said the Mayor could tackle the problem by building more homes and investing in transport. She said Mr Khan had “gone soft on criminals and lost control of the streets” by reducing stop and search early in his mayoralty.

She said: “The Mayor’s attempt to shift the blame and bring out the begging bowl simply won’t wash while he’s splurging an eye-watering amount of cash and failing to get a grip on London’s crime epidemic."