The Government will ban so-called “zombie knives” and machetes in England and Wales from September
Legislation will be introduced to parliament on Thursday, the Home Office said, with a surrender scheme planned over the summer to give people who have such knives a chance to voluntarily hand them in.
Under the measures, it will be illegal to possess, sell, manufacture or transport these zombie-style knives and machetes.
In the year to June 2023 some 247 people lost their lives where a knife or sharp instrument was involved, official data showed, with many of those dying being teenage boys or in their early 20s.
“Knife crime continues to take precious lives away, and I am determined to put an end to this senseless violence,” interior minister James Cleverly said in a statement.
Policing Minister Chris Philp said that more types of weapons could be added to the government’s new legislation to ban zombie-style knives & machetes, in the future if needed.
However Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary has said that “Six different home secretary’s have said they will get zombie knives off the street – we need a much broader ban”.
Speaking to Sky News, she said: “We need a much stronger ban than the government is proposing. They’ve announced these proposals about 16 times before, six different home secretaries have said they are going to get zombie knives off the street.
“We need a much broader ban, so it’s got to include things like the ninja swords and other dangerous weapons as well, and there’s got to be stronger penalties for the online marketplaces that are still profiting from the sale of illegal knives.
“We want a broader review that looks at the whole process of the way in which these knives are being bought. There’s not proper checks for age as well.”
Doing this morning’s media round,Policing minister Chris Philp said that he also hopes technology to scan people for knives in public places will be ready for use by officers by 2025.
“We’re also investing in the Home Office in some new technology, it’s not ready for deployment yet but I’m hoping in about a year it will be, that will enable people to be scanned for knives as they walk down high streets to take more knives again off the street.”
