I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) (England and Wales) Order 2025.
I am speaking today on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention, who is unable to attend the Committee but who worked very closely with Pooja and other members of Ronan Kanda’s family on this important piece of legislation. The order before us today amends the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988, and adds ninja swords to the list of prohibited offensive weapons. I will briefly set out the context.
The Government have already taken robust action to address the menace of knife crime, following the implementation of a ban on zombie-style knives and machetes that came into force in September 2024. We are taking every possible step to strengthen enforcement and the prevention of knife crime as part of our wider ranging safer streets mission, and further new measures are contained in the Crime and Policing Bill currently going through Parliament. None the less, as the public would expect, we are keeping our approach under review, and when there is a clear and compelling case, will not hesitate to take further action.
The order before us today was drawn up in response to concerns expressed by the family of Ronan Kanda, who was just 16 when he was fatally stabbed with a ninja sword in 2022. I am grateful to his Member of Parliament, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton South East (Pat McFadden), for being here today and for all the work that he and Ronan’s family have done to enable us to bring forward this legislation today. In doing so, we seek to honour Ronan’s memory and to recognise the extraordinary courage and determination shown by his loved ones, led by his mother Pooja Kanda, alongside her daughter Nikita. We pay tribute to them for their work with parliamentarians to keep us informed and to make sure that this legislation stayed on track. Despite suffering the most unbearable loss, they have campaigned for a change that will make our society safer. I am grateful that Pooja, Nikita and other guests are with us in the Public Gallery today.
To provide further background information on the order, although there have been relatively few fatal attacks involving ninja swords, even one is too many. There is no doubt that such swords can be lethally dangerous when used violently, or that they are becoming increasingly popular. Under section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, it is an offence to possess, import, manufacture, sell, hire, offer for sale, or expose or possess for the purpose of sale or hire, a weapon specified in an order made under that section. The order before us today will enhance public protection by restricting access to ninja swords and preventing their use as weapons to commit violent crimes and cause harm.
Under the order-making powers in section 141(2) of the 1988 Act, the Government wish to add ninja swords to the list of offensive weapons to which section 141 applies. These weapons are defined as a bladed article, with a blade between 14 inches and 24 inches long, with one straight cutting edge and a tanto-style point. That length was chosen to exclude knives that are designed for legitimate purposes, such as many kitchen knives. To be in scope of the ban, the article should also have the features specified in paragraph 1A, namely a primary cutting edge, a secondary cutting edge and a blunt spine with either a tanto-style point or a reversed tanto-style point.
Although it is right that we take the firmest possible action to prevent violence and to stop dangerous weapons getting into the wrong hands, we are not seeking to criminalise law-abiding citizens. We are confident that this description of ninja swords does not include tools traditionally used in agriculture and farming, gardening or other outdoor activities. We have included in the legislation defences to cover a range of circumstances, including where the article in question is of historical importance, is owned for a permitted activity, or is made by hand. Antiques are already exempted from section 141 of the 1988 Act. We are also making a defence for blunt instruments to protect the legitimate fantasy sword market.
Parts 3 and 4 of the instrument provide for a surrender and compensation scheme through which owners of weapons in scope of the ban will be able to surrender them. In territorial scope, the instrument will apply only in England and Wales. We hope that the devolved Administrations in Northern Ireland and Scotland will take similar action to ensure that ninja swords are prohibited across the whole United Kingdom. To that end, officials have engaged with the Governments in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
To conclude, the Government will not tolerate the risk of these dangerous swords being used to perpetrate violence and cause bloodshed. The tragic loss of so many young lives to knife crime, including that of Ronan Kanda, who is the inspiration for this legislation and for his family’s work, and the resulting trauma that families and communities experience cannot go on. That is why, as part of our safer streets mission, we are aiming to halve knife crime within a decade. It is also why we are bringing forward this order, which I commend to the Committee.