Draft Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) (England and Wales) Order 2025
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) (England and Wales) Order 2025.
I am speaking today on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention, who is unable to attend the Committee but who worked very closely with Pooja and other members of Ronan Kanda’s family on this important piece of legislation. The order before us today amends the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988, and adds ninja swords to the list of prohibited offensive weapons. I will briefly set out the context.
The Government have already taken robust action to address the menace of knife crime, following the implementation of a ban on zombie-style knives and machetes that came into force in September 2024. We are taking every possible step to strengthen enforcement and the prevention of knife crime as part of our wider ranging safer streets mission, and further new measures are contained in the Crime and Policing Bill currently going through Parliament. None the less, as the public would expect, we are keeping our approach under review, and when there is a clear and compelling case, will not hesitate to take further action.
The order before us today was drawn up in response to concerns expressed by the family of Ronan Kanda, who was just 16 when he was fatally stabbed with a ninja sword in 2022. I am grateful to his Member of Parliament, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton South East (Pat McFadden), for being here today and for all the work that he and Ronan’s family have done to enable us to bring forward this legislation today. In doing so, we seek to honour Ronan’s memory and to recognise the extraordinary courage and determination shown by his loved ones, led by his mother Pooja Kanda, alongside her daughter Nikita. We pay tribute to them for their work with parliamentarians to keep us informed and to make sure that this legislation stayed on track. Despite suffering the most unbearable loss, they have campaigned for a change that will make our society safer. I am grateful that Pooja, Nikita and other guests are with us in the Public Gallery today.
To provide further background information on the order, although there have been relatively few fatal attacks involving ninja swords, even one is too many. There is no doubt that such swords can be lethally dangerous when used violently, or that they are becoming increasingly popular. Under section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, it is an offence to possess, import, manufacture, sell, hire, offer for sale, or expose or possess for the purpose of sale or hire, a weapon specified in an order made under that section. The order before us today will enhance public protection by restricting access to ninja swords and preventing their use as weapons to commit violent crimes and cause harm.
Under the order-making powers in section 141(2) of the 1988 Act, the Government wish to add ninja swords to the list of offensive weapons to which section 141 applies. These weapons are defined as a bladed article, with a blade between 14 inches and 24 inches long, with one straight cutting edge and a tanto-style point. That length was chosen to exclude knives that are designed for legitimate purposes, such as many kitchen knives. To be in scope of the ban, the article should also have the features specified in paragraph 1A, namely a primary cutting edge, a secondary cutting edge and a blunt spine with either a tanto-style point or a reversed tanto-style point.
Although it is right that we take the firmest possible action to prevent violence and to stop dangerous weapons getting into the wrong hands, we are not seeking to criminalise law-abiding citizens. We are confident that this description of ninja swords does not include tools traditionally used in agriculture and farming, gardening or other outdoor activities. We have included in the legislation defences to cover a range of circumstances, including where the article in question is of historical importance, is owned for a permitted activity, or is made by hand. Antiques are already exempted from section 141 of the 1988 Act. We are also making a defence for blunt instruments to protect the legitimate fantasy sword market.
Parts 3 and 4 of the instrument provide for a surrender and compensation scheme through which owners of weapons in scope of the ban will be able to surrender them. In territorial scope, the instrument will apply only in England and Wales. We hope that the devolved Administrations in Northern Ireland and Scotland will take similar action to ensure that ninja swords are prohibited across the whole United Kingdom. To that end, officials have engaged with the Governments in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
To conclude, the Government will not tolerate the risk of these dangerous swords being used to perpetrate violence and cause bloodshed. The tragic loss of so many young lives to knife crime, including that of Ronan Kanda, who is the inspiration for this legislation and for his family’s work, and the resulting trauma that families and communities experience cannot go on. That is why, as part of our safer streets mission, we are aiming to halve knife crime within a decade. It is also why we are bringing forward this order, which I commend to the Committee.
Seema Malhotra
It is a pleasure to wind up this debate, and to respond to some of the comments that have been made. I remind the shadow Minister that under the last Government the police force was largely decimated in terms of neighbourhood policing teams. The subsequent challenges of rising antisocial behaviour and violent crime resulted in this Government having the safer streets mission as a national priority.
The shadow Minister will know that the Home Secretary’s first priority has been to ensure that there is sufficient support for our police, and to deliver on our commitment to have over 13,000 more community support officers on our streets. It is not just the work of the police that makes the difference when tackling knife crime, though. A generation of young people have been left behind by successive Conservative Governments; we see that in school absence figures, in their lack of confidence in themselves and about their futures, and in the rise in mental health issues.
We recognise that it is important to tackle and to halve knife crime, and to deal with the issue coherently. That is why alongside the measures to support the police—giving them new powers, ensuring they are back in our communities, and building relationships and confidence with communities, schools and young people as part of a prevention strategy—it is important to put in place more facilities and support for young people, particularly those at risk of crime in our communities. Our youth hubs, which involve cross-Government working, including the Home Office, the Department for Education and other Departments, are going to be an important part of that. Until we can better support young people to resist the traction into knife crime, often because they believe it is a form of defence, we will struggle to turn the tide. We absolutely must do that, in the interests not just of the lives of young people but of our society and community safety. I hope that that is of some reassurance to the shadow Minister.
It is also important to mention the work of the violence reduction unit, led by the Mayor of London, but these matters do not apply only to London; the strategies need to be nationwide, so that support in communities and for young people at risk of crime reaches into the heart of wherever it is needed. I also want to assure the shadow Minister that we have worked hard on making sure that the definition of ninja sword in the legislation does not include other swords. We recognise the importance of exemptions for swords of historical importance or that are made by hand. I outlined that in my opening remarks.
I would like to comment on the surrender scheme and compensation. For those who wish to be compensated for giving in their ninja sword, we have set the standard compensation rate at £5, based on wholesale costs from manufacturers. That is based on research, rather than retail costs, in order to avoid the possibility of retailers profiting from the scheme. The order also specifies that no compensation will be payable unless the individual is the lawful owner or can show that they owned or had a contract to acquire the weapon on or before the cut-off date of 27 March 2025. Individuals will also need to provide acceptable proof, such as a purchase receipt or other evidence, that they owned the weapon before that date.
We have also provided a defence for blunt items. That will enable collectors of fantasy swords and users of blunt training or re-enactment swords to possess and purchase items that would otherwise be prohibited. Of course, if a blunt item that falls under the definition is subsequently sharpened, it will become illegal, and a charge of unlawful possession of a prohibited offensive weapon could be laid. A defence already exists for those who want to own prohibited swords for sports, martial arts and re-enactment, and we will be extending that defence to ninja swords.
Again, I thank those who have contributed throughout the debate on this subject, and those who have shared their thoughts with me and my colleague the Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention. I also thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton South East and other Members of Parliament in all parts of the House and across the country who have been involved in supporting Pooja, Nikita and their family in their campaign.
We are united in recognising that knife crime is dangerous, abhorrent, and all too often deadly. It leaves families utterly broken and communities devastated. The order represents an important step in the effort to halve knife crime driven by the Home Secretary, for whom that has been a personal commitment. I commend it to the Committee.
Question put and agreed to.
2.49 pm
Committee rose.