This is the terrifying 21-inch knife that LBC was able to buy legally on the internet for just £23.49 due to a bizarre loophole in the law.

Despite having all the characteristics of a zombie knife, this potentially deadly blade is easy to buy and completely legal - simply because it does not have any writing on it.

Police would even have to leave it alone if they discovered it on a raid.

Police officers have revealed that laws introduced last year to tackle lethal blades are “pointless” and frustration is growing that officers are unable to take these dangerous weapons off the streets.

The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 came into force in July last year, and sought to ban the possession of dangerous weapons such as zombie knives, flick knives and others, even in private.

But the law has been so narrowly written that killer knives have been able to slip through the net and remain on the streets.

LBC has taken the decision not to name the company which sold us the knife. It may be questionable whether such knives have a legitimate domestic purpose, but currently, to sell one is not breaking any laws. The fault, after all, lies in the legislation.

A so-called "zombie knife" must fit three key criteria. It must have a cutting edge, a serrated edge, and crucially, it must have “images or words that suggest it is to be used for the purpose of violence.”

In practice, this means that police officers are raiding the homes of known criminals and discovering brutal blades that fit all the characteristics of a zombie knife, but if there is no violent writing or imagery on the blade, they cannot confiscate it or bring criminal charges.

Stuart Nolan, of DPP Solicitors, and chair of the Law Society’s criminal law committee said: “You can have and buy quite openly an item that for all intents and purposes is exactly the same as the prohibited item, except it doesn’t have writing on it that involves incitement to violence. The more you say it, the more difficult you may feel it is to understand, but that’s what it says, and I can only interpret the law as I understand it from the statute.”

To be completely clear, the loophole only applies in a private setting, as the possession of a knife in public would be illegal under the Prevention of Crime Act, 1953

Patrick Green, CEO of knife crime charity The Ben Kinsella Trust, said: “It’s farcical. The whole premise of the Offensive Weapons Act was to do away with these knives, so I can’t make head nor tail of why you would include a statement which says unless it has certain writing on it, it’s not an offensive weapon.

“These are weapons which are maiming and killing people. The law has to be fit for purpose. This law in its present state isn’t, and that’s a real problem as we try to tackle knife crime.”

And this is not just a dry point of law. Data recently collated by the College of Policing shows that in London in 2019/20, the vast majority of knives used in murders were machetes and hunting knives. Knives, like the one we purchased, with no legitimate domestic purpose.

Last year, the number of teenagers killed by knives in London reached its highest ever level. One of those victims was 15 year old Tamim Ian Habimana, who was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Woolwich in July.

His mother, Hawa Haragazika, said: “It’s really disappointing. It’s ridiculous, and it’s disgusting to allow that. Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if there’s anything written on the knife or not, it stabs people. So how can you allow that? It’s a joke, and I feel so angry about it as a mother who lost her son a few months ago to knife crime.”

The Home Office said in a statement that: "Too many lives have been lost through serious violence and there is no place for the criminal use of knives in our society.

"In 2021 we banned a wide range of knives, weapons and firearms and existing legislation prohibits the possession of any machete or large knife in a public place without good reason - the penalty on conviction can be up to 4 years imprisonment.

"We also legislated against zombie knives in 2016 and it is now unlawful to sell these or to possess them in private.

"However, we are always actively working with police forces across England and Wales to see what further action is needed to take these deadly weapons off our streets."

#ZombieKnifes #NickFerrari #LBC

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