Retailers and online marketplaces were challenged to tighten the marketing, sale and display of knives at two Home Office summits on 8 October, the Government’s latest step in its drive to halve knife crime. The announcement names no change in the law, but it sets out plainly what ministers expect of anyone who sells a blade, and the gun trade sells a great many: stalking and skinning knives, folding knives for the game cart, multi-tools, and the hunting knives that sit in every well-stocked gunroom cabinet.

What were retailers asked to do?

Policing and Crime Minister Sarah Jones hosted law enforcement, major retailers, online marketplaces, trade associations, Trading Standards, the Advertising Standards Authority and campaigners across the two meetings, the first for online sellers and marketplaces, the second for bricks-and-mortar shops. Online retailers were asked how they will ensure knife listings comply with the law and what further action they will take to prevent irresponsible marketing. Shops were pressed to strengthen their standards for displaying and selling knives in store and to back a renewed Responsible Retailers’ Scheme, the voluntary code covering responsible marketing, display, staff training and age checks.

Ms Jones said: “Knife crime destroys lives and devastates families, and everyone involved in the sale of knives has a responsibility to help prevent harm. Businesses and online retailers need to take a hard look at how knives are marketed, sold and displayed, and take every possible step to prevent irresponsible sales. We are making progress, but I want businesses to go further and do everything possible to stop dangerous knives reaching the wrong hands.”

Where does this leave a dealer who sells knives?

The summits build on Ronan’s Law, which earlier this year tightened online knife sales with stricter age verification and delivery checks, and on the Government’s 2025 review of online sales, whose recommendations the National Knife Crime Centre (NKCC) is still working through with the Home Office. Nothing announced on 8 October changes what a dealer may lawfully stock or sell. What has changed is the scrutiny: how a knife is photographed and described online, where it sits on the shop floor, and whether the staff who sell it are trained and the age checks recorded.

For the trade the practical lines are three. First, product listings: a hunting knife marketed on its sporting purpose, with its blade length and steel stated plainly, is the kind of listing the summits were not about; the “combat and violence” framing ministers named is what they want gone. Second, display: knives behind the counter or in a locked case rather than within reach on the shop floor, which most gun shops already practise for other reasons. Third, the scheme: a dealer who signs up to the renewed Responsible Retailers’ Scheme when its terms are published has a documented answer if a Trading Standards officer asks.

What did the police say about enforcement?

Commander Stephen Clayman, head of the NKCC and the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on knife crime, said enforcement is aimed at illicit supply: “At the NKCC, we are working tirelessly to restrict illicit knife supply through the unregulated grey market and importation of prohibited weapons from countries with different legislation to the UK, both of which remain significant concerns for law enforcement.” He added that “responsible selling and marketing practices are vital if we are to reduce children’s access to dangerous weapons”. The distinction matters to the legitimate trade: the target is the grey-market importer and the irresponsible listing, not the licensed dealer selling a skinning knife to a stalker.

Campaigners pushed for more. Leanne Lucas, the Southport survivor who founded Let’s Be Blunt, told the summit that “every knife has a lifecycle – from design and manufacture to marketing, display, sale, storage and access – with opportunities for prevention at every stage”, and argued that pointed-tip kitchen knives should be part of the discussion.

What happens next?

The Home Office wants retailers to sign up to the renewed Responsible Retailers’ Scheme, and further engagement with online marketplaces is planned. Dealers who sell knives online, through a marketplace or at a game fair should watch for the scheme’s terms when they are published, and review their listings and display against them. Gun Trade Insider will report any requirement that reaches the counter.

Useful links

Home Office – the summit announcement in full

Frequently asked questions

Do the knife summits change what a dealer may sell?

No. The summits pressed retailers on marketing, sale and display practice. The law on who may buy a knife, the online sale checks under Ronan’s Law and the rules on carrying in public are unchanged.

What is the Responsible Retailers’ Scheme?

A voluntary code for knife retailers covering responsible marketing, display, staff training and age checks, which the Home Office is renewing and asking retailers to back.

What is Ronan’s Law?

Legislation introduced this year tightening online knife sales, including stricter age verification and delivery requirements, named after Ronan Kanda.

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