22 December 2025
The Government is consulting on a new licensing scheme designed to save lives by blocking illegal knife sales and imports.
A new licensing scheme is being proposed by the Government to block illegal knife sales and imports - helping save lives and keep dangerous weapons out of young hands.
The measures would introduce mandatory licences for businesses and private sellers, as well as for importers of knives and bladed items.
Subject to consultation, sellers could face Police suitability checks, mandatory age verification and secure packaging requirements. Import licences would prevent sellers from moving operations overseas to avoid regulation.
This builds on new laws introduced by the Government to tackle knife crime, including Ronan's Law which strengthens rules for selling knives online, as part of the Government's commitment to halve knife crime in a decade. Widespread Police operations, border seizures and a knife surrender scheme have already seen 60,000 knives taken off our streets. There has also been an 18% fall in knife homicides, with knife crime overall down 5% compared to the previous year and stabbings down 10%.
The scheme would prevent young people from bypassing existing safeguards by using adult identification or through unregulated resales on social media. This so-called 'grey market' enables knives to be bought without any checks, putting lives at risk.
Tragedies in recent years underline the urgency of action. 16-year-old Ronan Kanda was murdered in Wolverhampton by two other teenagers who had ordered a ninja sword online - one of several bladed weapons delivered to their home.
Supported by Ronan Kanda's Mum, Pooja Kanda, the proposed licensing schemes follow recommendations from the Independent Review of Online Knife Sales, led by National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) knife crime lead Commander Stephen Clayman. The review highlighted the need for stronger regulation to prevent knives falling into the wrong hands and putting lives in danger.
(Source: Home Office, 15 December 2025)
The full story and the consultation can be found on the GOV.UK website.
For more information on this subject, see 'Knives, other bladed items and corrosive substances'.