13/05/2025
New proposed knife legislation! If you're a scout leader (or anyone else) who orders 6 or more knives in one go then we will have to report you to the police!
The Law ---------
(1) A person (“the seller”) must, in accordance with requirements specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument, report to the person specified in the regulations any reportable sales the seller makes of bladed articles.
(2) A reportable sale of bladed articles occurs where the seller, in any of the ways set out in subsection (4), sells—
(a) six or more bladed articles, none of which form a qualifying set of bladed articles;
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Frustratingly, we have been pushing for this legislation for 3 years and the wording means that the police are likely to be inundated with reports of sales from legitimate customers. There is no mention of frequency or purchases either! If you attempt to order 5 machetes every day for a week there is no obligation to report but 6 carving knives to a small carving school would!
For perspective 3 scout groups and one lady ordering carving knives for a birthday would have been reported yesterday!
