Youth held over 14-year-old's murder

London police said they had arrested a youth in connection with the murder of Shaquille Smith, a 14-year-old boy stabbed to death in the capital at the weekend.

Mr Smith died from a stab wound to his abdomen after becoming involved in a fight with a group of youths on Saturday night in Hackney, east London. He was the 25th teenager to die in violent circumstances in London this year.

His 16-year-old sister also suffered wounds to her face and neck in the incident but her injuries were not serious.

Police said they arrested a male in his late teens in east London early today. There were no further details.

The wave of shootings and stabbings in London in recent months has prompted a police crackdown on young people carrying weapons. Metropolitan Police chief Ian Blair said last month the violence was "unacceptable".

Official figures released in July showed there were more than 22,000 serious offences involving knives in England and Wales in the year to end-March 2008, though crime fell significantly overall.