LONDON—England and Wales are set to ban menacing-looking machetes and knives without practical use under new government proposals. The proposed legislation also includes increasing the maximum prison sentence for manufacturing or supplying such weapons from six months to two years.
The Labour Party has criticized the government, stating that these weapons should have been banned years ago.
The impetus for the proposed ban comes in the wake of a bold daylight attack with a “zombie knife,” a blade inspired by horror films. Around 45,000 knife or sharp instrument-related offenses were reported in the period ending March 2022.
The new proposals would provide police officers with stronger powers to seize machetes and zombie knives and impose more severe penalties on individuals who sell them.
The Home Office consultation includes multiple proposals, such as banning knives used only for intimidation and injury from circulation and increasing the penalty for selling and distributing such knives to children to two years.
This is not the first time the issue has been addressed. Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary for Labour, believes that machetes and zombie knives should have been banned years ago, while the Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservative government of consistently failing to ensure community safety.
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