Action on 'zombie knives'

VIOLENCE at the Notting Hill Carnival shows the need for police and the courts to be given tougher powers to tackle so-called “zombie knives” and machetes, Rishi Sunak has said.

Eight people were stabbed at the event in west London on Monday and Mr Sunak said it was a “good illustration” of the need to act on knife crime. There were 275 arrests across the two days of the carnival, with 165 on Monday for a range of offences including possession of offensive weapons, assaults on police officers, possession of drugs and sexual offences.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he was worried about the use of weapons at the Notting Hill Carnival but stressed that the majority of people who attended had had a “fantastic time”.

The Government has announced plans to ban more zombie knives – which have fearsome-looking long blades – and machetes with no practical use, with police given more powers to seize and destroy them.