Too little, too late

Campaigners blast zombie knife pledge

- DAVE BURKE, TOM PETTIFOR Crime Editor and LUCY THORNTON

SEVEN years after the Tories first vowed to ban zombie knives and machetes, the horrific weapons are still blighting our streets.

Suella Braverman yesterday became the fifth Conservative Home Secretary in seven years to promise to outlaw them - a move branded "too little, too late" by campaigners.

More than 173 youths have been fatally stabbed since 2016, when Theresa May made the first promise.

Since then, Amber Rudd, Sajid Javid and Priti Patel have all spoken tough words - but nothing has changed.

The blades are readily available to buy online and, if police find one in the home of a violent criminal, they are powerless to act.

A Home Office consultation document highlighted one case in which a 44in machete was discovered under a drug dealer's bed during a raid, but officers could not remove it.

Analysis of murders in London in 2019/20 showed machetes and "outdoor/hunting/combat knives" were the most common weapons.

Under the new proposals, police will be able to seize such weapons and criminals who buy or sell machetes and zombie knives could face up to two years' jail. Police will have more powers to seize and destroy, and criminals would face tougher sentences for sale and possession.

STRATEGY

But campaigner Yvonne Lawson, whose son Godwin, 17, was stabbed to death in Stamford Hill, North East London, in 2010, told the Mirror: "It's no good saying it, how are they going to be achieving this strategy? "Lots of Home Secretaries have said the same, this is not new. What I want to know is how it will be achieved?" The Government has announced a seven-week consultation on the plans, but Labour have slammed ministers for not acting faster.