Knives: Sales

(asked on 18th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason it is legal to sell machetes; and if she will make a statement.


Answered by
Kit Malthouse Portrait
Kit Malthouse
This question was answered on 23rd June 2021

Keeping people safe is the Government’s top priority, including from violent crime involving the misuse of knives and other offensive weapons.

Under provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 1988 it is unlawful to sell a machete to a person under the age of 18 and it is also an offence to have a machete in a public place without lawful authority or good reason.

Under the provisions of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 we are introducing further measures to address crime involving bladed items including stopping bladed items being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18.

The majority of machete owners use them for legitimate reasons such as gardening, camping or agricultural use. Where a machete is misused as a weapon, there are a range of offences that the offender may be charged with, such as causing grievous bodily harm. These can result in lengthy sentences, including life imprisonment in instances of murder.

We continue to keep the legislation on bladed articles and offensive weapons under review.

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