Ban on ninja swords but no mention of crossbows in planned weapons crackdown
The previous government considered introducing a licensing system for the weapons after a plot to assassinate the late Queen.
Ninja swords are set to be banned under Government plans set out in the King’s Speech, but there is no proposal to take action on crossbows.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said last week she was urgently looking at whether to clamp down on the weapons after a mother and two daughters were murdered in Hertfordshire.
Carol Hunt, the wife of racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters were killed with a crossbow in their family home in Bushey.
The previous government looked at bringing in firearms licensing-style rules in the wake of an attempt to kill the late Queen with a crossbow.
There is currently no registration system for owning one, no requirement for a licence and they appear to be readily available to buy online.
But it is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy or own one, and anyone carrying a crossbow in public without a reasonable excuse faces up to four years behind bars.
The previous government also had plans in place to tighten laws on so-called zombie knives and machetes, but it stopped short of proposing an outright ban on ninja swords.
Labour said it will also introduce “strict sanctions” on senior executives of online companies who illegally sell knives.
It has made a general pledge to halve serious violence over the next decade.
