The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has vowed she will not "give up" fighting knife crime with her "under-resourced" force.

Cressida Dick praised the work of her officers after Sajid Javid called on Scotland Yard to step up its response following the latest spate of stabbings in the capital.

Britain's most senior police officer said thousands of weapons have been taken off the streets of London this year, while the violent crime taskforce has made more than 1,800 arrests since it was set up seven months ago.

She said Britain's largest force has increased its use of stop and search, redeployed extra officers in the wake of the latest murders, and is working to remove videos which incite violence from the internet.

Writing in the Evening Standard on Thursday, Ms Dick pledged to continue to "relentlessly" target the 190 gangs in London fuelling the rise in violent crime.

"Our work will continue, we will not stop or give up," she said.

"Policing may be under-resourced, but we are using our officers carefully.

"Officers join to keep communities safe and every one of us feels passionately about this mission.

"Against what has been a terrible week of violence, there is more to do, but also much that has and is being done."

Her comments came following another bloody week in London, with five fatal stabbings from October 31.

On Wednesday, Mr Javid told Ms Dick he was "deeply worried" by the level of violent crime faced by officers on the streets and reiterated his commitment to focus on driving it down, the Home Office said.

The Home Secretary, who is currently in the US for talks with social media companies about their efforts to combat online child abuse, told the Commissioner in a phone call: "We must act together, and I stand with you as we face this challenge.

"Alongside tough law enforcement, we will not let up on our work to prevent young people getting drawn into knife crime in the first place.

"But we must step up the police response to get the situation under control so that these measures have time to work."

He also stressed his determination to make sure the police have the powers and tools they need and said he would do everything within in his power to support them, the department added.

The Home Secretary thanked Ms Dick and her officers for their commitment and hard work, while also making clear that police must make full use of their powers, including targeted stop and search.

Home Office figures released last month revealed that forces in England and Wales conducted 282,248 stops and searches in the 12 months to March - the lowest number since current data collection started 17 years ago.

The tactics have previously attracted controversy amid criticism they unfairly focused on black and minority ethnic individuals.

Reforms were introduced in 2014 by then home secretary Theresa May to ensure stop and search was used in a more targeted way.

Since his appointment, Mr Javid has backed a boost in the use of the powers as officers and ministers attempt to bear down on spiralling levels of serious violence.