SP18 Response Accepted

Online knife retailer compliance with Knives Act

Recommendation

The Home Office should take immediate action to ensure that online knife retailers are complying with the Knives Act 1997, particularly regarding the marketing of knives, machetes, swords and similar bladed articles.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- A Home Office consultation proposed a licensing scheme for online knife sellers including mandatory age verification, application of Challenge 25 policies, a requirement for marketing material to display age verification livery, and a prohibition on mystery boxes (Licensing for knife sales, Home Office, consultation December 2025 to February 2026).
- The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces stricter age verification for the online sale and delivery of knives, a duty to report bulk sales, and content removal notices for illegal weapons marketing (Crime and Policing Act 2026, legislation.gov.uk, 2026).
- A Home Office news release stated £1.75 million was provided for a national knife crime coordination capability, launched in April 2026, to tackle online and unlawful knife sales, with a further £1.75 million confirmed for 2026/27 (Knife crime hotspots to see surge in police operations, Home Office, April 2026).
- The government stated the Home Office expects to complete implementation in mid-2026, will issue a communication on the Knives Act 1997 to trade associations, platforms and retailers, and has provided £1.75 million in 2026-27 to establish a National Knife Crime Centre (Government Response to Phase 1 of the Southport Inquiry, CP 1623, Home Office, July 2026).
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by claude-opus-4-8 on 02 Jul 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted
Accepted Home Office
02 Jul 2026

The Home Office is the lead department and expects to complete the implementation of this recommendation in mid-2026. Progress and next steps:
- The Home Office will issue a communication on the Knives Act 1997 to trade associations, online platforms and retailers shortly to highlight the requirements and criminal offences in respect of marketing of knives.
- The National Police Chiefs' Council lead for knife crime will also issue a similar communication shortly to all police forces in England and Wales about the Knives Act 1997.
- References to the restrictions in the Knives Act 1997 will be included in refreshed guidance being prepared in relation to legislation on bladed articles and offensive weapons, and which requires updating to take account of the new legislative provisions in the Crime and Policing Act 2026.
- The Home Office has provided £1.75 million in funding in 2026-27 for the establishment of a new National Knife Crime Centre, which will provide a national capability to tackle the unlawful sale of knives online.

Read Full Response
Progress Timeline
Home Office states: Official Report
02 Jul 2026

Government response published 2 July 2026 (CP 1623). The government accepted this recommendation; the lead department reports implementation is in progress.

Source
Manual Entry
13 Apr 2026

Awaiting government response. Phase 1 report published 13 April 2026.

Source
Inquiry Southport Inquiry
Report The Southport Inquiry Report: Phase 1 13 Apr 2026
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Home Office Primary
Themes & Tags
Weapon Component Misuse Oversight Knife Crime Weapons Online Sales
Recommendation age 0.3 yrs
Last formal update 02 Jul 2026