Sadiq Khan renews plea over zombie knives legislation

By Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

Sadiq Khan has urged the Government to press ahead with a stricter ban on zombie knives and machetes, as he criticised ministers for “unacceptable delays”.

The London Mayor renewed his call for action just weeks after actor Idris Elba accused politicians of not giving the issue “the focus it deserves”.

A zombie knife is defined as having “a cutting edge, a serrated edge and images or words suggesting it is used for violence”.

They were first added to the Government’s list of prohibited offensive weapons in 2016, but campaigners argued that a “legal loophole” still needed to be closed before the knives could effectively be considered banned.

Police have been particularly unable to deal with zombie knives designed to get around the 2016 definition by not having intimidating images or words on them.

In August 2023, the Home Office announced plans to create a stronger definition for the weapons and give police extra powers to seize them, but it is unclear when the new law will come in.

Mr Khan said: “It is simply unacceptable that zombie-style knives and machetes are still on the streets of London and the UK eight years after ministers first proposed banning the sale of the blades.

“We’ve repeatedly been promised action, but instead it’s harder for a teenager to buy a lottery ticket than a zombie knife, while we’ve seen a merry-go-round of Home Secretaries failing to deliver.

“These unacceptable delays must end.”

The Home Office has said: “It is already an offence to carry a bladed item over 3ins in public without good reason and it is also an offence to threaten them with such a weapon.”

(Picture: Pixabay/Alexander Lesnitsky)