Swanshurst School pupil, Kiran Basra, met with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to discuss the work she has been doing to highlight the devastating effects that gun crime can bring to families.

Kiran joined her me at a reception for young people that Mr Brown held at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday 16 January.

In 2005 Kiran was devastated to learn that her cousin, Sukhvinder Jawanda was murdered in Canada. The 27-year-old was in the passenger seat of a friend’s car when strangers opened fire, killing him instantly. At the time Kiran said, "I was really shocked that someone as innocent as him had been killed." After visiting her distraught relatives in Canada, Kiran returned to England pledging to do something positive to honour her cousin.
She formed an anti-gun crime group with citizenship teacher Douglas Smith, pictured here, in an aim to educate her school about the issue and organised a charity concert held at the school.

I was particularly interested to hear about Kiran’s hard work in educating her peers about gun crime, especially as it is something that I have campaigned long and hard on.

We all too often hear negative stories about young people today, but Kiran is a fantastic example to everyone and I was delighted that she could accompany me to Downing Street to talk to the Prime Minister about her campaign. She is a real asset to Birmingham.