DCI John Macdonald, from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said:

"As police officers we often feel very humble when we meet the families of young people who have been victims of homicide. They show such incredible dignity in the worst of circumstances.

"Ben's family have reacted in exactly that way, and they have also committed themselves to try to persuade young people to stop carrying knives.

"In Ben's case, he was an innocent young man, intelligent and popular with a large and loving family and a wide circle of friends. He wasn't involved in crime and on the night he was killed was out enjoying himself with other young people.

"Tragically, following an earlier incident that was nothing to do with him, he was attacked and killed by these young cowards. They subjected him to a vicious attack and he had no chance of defending himself. They were three men armed with knives, thugs who wanted to inflict violence on anyone they could get hold of. Ben was a younger boy on his own and, like most people, was against the carrying of knives.

"Those convicted are unfortunately similar to other young men we arrest during murder enquiries. Their first thought when faced with a challenge is to resort to extreme violence; they don't seem able to consider any alternative response. Sometimes, as is probably the case here, this is down to pure ignorance.

"The young people in Islington showed their emotions during a march in memory of Ben, demanding an end to knife crime. They said what most people feel and we should take notice and recognise that the vast majority of young people are of this viewpoint. Fortunately there are relatively few people of a similar nature to those convicted but they do cause a large amount of grief and hurt to so many people.

"If young people work with the police we can deal with these cowards. Those who were brave enough to stand up and give evidence should be proud of themselves. They were excellent witnesses and Ben's family will always be grateful for the help they gave in this case."

John Sutherland, Acting Borough Commander for Islington Police said:

“Youth violence is the number one priority for us - as it has been since well before Ben’s life was taken in June 2008. My thoughts have been with his family since the day he died and are with them today.

“Our response to his murder has been to do absolutely all we can to minimise the potential of further serious harm to other young people in Islington. 

"The use of knives by young people is not a problem that can be solved overnight. However, our sustained efforts to tackle it are now starting to show positive results.

“Since Ben’s murder, youth violence has fallen in Islington. Since April 2009 for instance, serious youth violence has gone down by a quarter and knife crime has fallen by 9%.

“This is the result of a partnership with Islington Council - and a combined approach of both enforcement and engagement. We have increased the number of officers on the streets in some areas and the number of people being stopped and searched.

“In October 2008, a dedicated police Youth Engagement Team was set up to prevent harm - by young people as perpetrators and to young people as victims.

“We have also increased opportunities to engage with young people and have worked with the Council to provide them with more alternatives to crime.

“On Sunday (7th June 09) we announced the winners of our first ever Safer Neighbourhoods Annual Challenge which asks young people in Islington to think about what they can do to make their neighbourhood safer and to organise activities to address local problems.

“We hope today’s verdict will provide some reassurance to both Ben’s family and the wider Islington community. I would like to assure them both that we will continue to do all we can to help prevent anything like this from happening again.”

Cllr Barbara Smith, Islington Council's Executive Member for Community Safety, said:

"Ben's death was an absolute tragedy and my deepest sympathy goes to his family.

"Preventing harm to young people and the community is a top priority for Islington Council. We work very closely with the police on tackling youth crime and antisocial behaviour.

"We take the issue extremely seriously and for example have committed significant funding specifically to address issues of young people’s involvement in gangs and youth-on-youth violence."