BORIS Johnson warned last night that cutting projects that tackle youth crime would be “the worst thing to do”.

Speaking at an event where the London Mayor spoke with residents in Brent about their experiences and views on youth violence, he said that he “had fought for every last penny for London”.

Asked if government cuts to council budgets undermine voluntary groups' efforts to tackle the problem, he told the Harrow Times: “I have had that argument vehemently with the government and I made the best efforts of protecting London from the cuts.

“It's a false economy – London is the hub of the UK economy and it will continue to be in the future.”

Mr Johnson was at Capital City Academy in Willesden to hear local people's views on serious youth crime, and try to convince more black men to join his new mentoring scheme for young black boys.

He said: “It's not just about dealing with the problem kids – we need to praise and support the ones who do well.

“99 per cent of kids are not going wrong and a large number are doing actively good things.

“But we've only had 40 mentors volunteer from Brent out of a thousand London-wide, and we want more.

“I'm calling it 'Boris' Army'.”

During the second half of the evening the audience got the chance to take part in group workshops to discuss what is already going on in the community and the challenges it faces.

But one woman told the Mayor that Brent Council has just made its coordinator for gun, gang and knife crime redundant because of cuts handed down by the government.

Mr Johnson said he could not control the government budget but said the real problem was educating the youngsters before they get involved in gang culture.

He added: “I can't sit here and write out cheques for every group to solve the problem – but where it's possible, there is money available at City Hall for groups who are educating.”

He appealed for these groups to apply for funding from his new Team London initiative, saying: "Cutting these groups would be the worst thing to do."

“Tackling serious youth violence is crucial to the health and happiness of this great capital. But it cannot be dealt with effectively without listening to the communities affected the most, many of whom are already doing great work to combat this awful affliction.”

Mr Johnson also encouraged bankers and the super-rich to be more philanthropic to help vital services that are being affected by budget cuts.