Shocked, stunned, horrified: MPs call for law change over killer blades
'We've seen a terrible spate of stabbings and need to get these vicious weapons banned for good.'
Shocked, stunned and astonished – that was the verdict of politicians on discovering the full horror of weapons legally for sale on our high streets.
They have called for legislation on the sale of weapons to be tightened after an E&S investigation revealed how shops were exploiting a loophole in the law to sell killer blades.
The E&S has launched a campaign for an outright ban on the sale of so called ‘long reach machetes’ – which are almost identical to outlawed zombie knives – and other deadly weapons.
WATCH: Pete Madeley and Alex Ross on sale of deadly blades
Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden said he was astonished to see some of the knives that were sold by high street shops.
“There is huge concern throughout the country about the rise in knife crime,” the Labour MP said.
“It is heart breaking to see young lives cut short by senseless and terrifying levels of violence. It is every parent’s nightmare to lose a child in this way.
“There is no single answer to the problem but one obvious step is to do whatever we can to take dangerous knives off our streets.
“That must mean proper controls over the sale of knives.
“It is shocking to see some of the knives than can be bought with little or no check on who buys them.
“In addition to controls we need a focussed education campaign telling young people the dangers of carrying knives and proper sentences in the courts for their use.
“We cannot go on with the level of knife crime we have seen on our streets in recent months.
“I can see no good reason why knives like this are on sale.
“The Government should act on this as soon as possible.”
Dudley North MP Ian Austin said: “Well done to the E&S for highlighting this loophole, which I will be raising with the Home Office.
“We have seen a terrible spate of stabbings on our streets and we need to get these vicious weapons banned for good.”
Wolverhampton council leader Roger Lawrence said he was ‘stunned’ by the knives obtained and said he would be contacting the Local Government Association over their sale.
“My view is these should not be sold anywhere or under any circumstance, they just should not be sold,” he said.
“They have no place in a civilised society.
“It is clear to me that these weapons are no ornamental knives, they ought not to be sold anywhere, clearly the Government needs to look at the legislation surrounding this.
“I will be talking to our trading standards teams to see what can be done and also be contacting the LGA.
“We need to be much more rigorous in control of the sale of knives, we need to be pushing for legislation and for Government to be taking action.
“This also brings in the wider issue of prevention with suitable sentencing providing a deterrent to stopping people carrying the weapons. But it is the readily availability of the knives which is the common thread, something needs to be done.”
Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley said: “I was absolutely horrified when I saw the pictures and realised people could be getting these knives.
“We must do what we can to stop the sale of these kinds of knives.
“We had the Ryan Passey murder where the defendant was cleared despite having a weapon in a public place. The deterrent is not there, and this is not helped by the availability of these knives.
“Ensuring people don’t believe they have to carry knives for protection is one thing, then stopping the sale is another.
“The internet is a different beast altogether, but if we can stop the sale at shops in our towns, it is a start.”
Wolverhampton South West MP Eleanor Smith she was appalled that weapons almost identical to zombie knives were so readily available in stores.
She said: “What reasonable use on earth can there be for them? Surely these shops have a moral and ethical duty not to sell them rather than look for loopholes to keep selling them.
“If that’s their approach I don’t think they’re fit to be in business.
“We need more officers on the street and a public health approach to tackling violent crime by linking the police, schools and health and other public services.
“Education is very important in this matter. As a nurse I’ve seen the deadly serious results of knife attacks.
“The youths buying and carrying these weapons don’t consider that using them will result in death. But that’s what happens.
“We’ve had a terrible example of this in Wolverhampton with the tragic death of Keelan Wilson last week.”
The West Midlands has seen violent crime rocket in recent years.
There have been more than 30 serious stabbing incidents this year, eight of which have been fatal.
They include Jaskaran Kang, 24, who was found stabbed to death at a flat in Stourbridge Road, Dudley, and Rezwan Ali, 19, who was killed at a party in a house in Walsall.
Mylee Billingham was aged just eight when she was stabbed to death at her home in Brownhills in January.
The number of non-fatal stabbings has also rocketed as police figures show the number of people charged with weapons possession are at record levels.
