Sheffield's cutlers fear knife law will cut trade

Knife manufacturer Alistair Fisher fears parts of the new bill will badly affect cutlers in Sheffield

Knife manufacturers in Sheffield are to tell a Home Office minister a proposed new law will hit their trade.

Provisions in the Offensive Weapons Bill could see a ban on posting bladed products to residential addresses.

Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield told a debate in Parliament that a "trusted trader" scheme could be used to deal with knife sales.

Knife producers from the city, famed for its steel cutlery, will meet with minister Victoria Atkins on Tuesday.

Labour MP Mr Blomfield said: "The bill proposes a complete ban on the sale of bladed products to residential homes meaning that they can't take advantage of the online market which is hugely important.

"What we're saying is instead of that, just as with other products like alcohol you need a trusted trader scheme where there's proper age verification."

Sheffield knife producer Alistair Fisher, from Taylors Eye Witness, said more of their products were being sold online.

He said: "Nearly everything is being bought online, if we can't deliver to our customers' homes the knife market will shrink and we'll be out of business."

Cutlers in Sheffield will tell the Home Office of their fears over new laws on bladed products

In November, Mr Blomfield told a debate in parliament: "Large retailers with regional shop networks might well be able to deal with age-verified collection easily and with little impact on cost, but smaller manufacturers, which use the internet to reach niche markets, will struggle.

"They are acutely aware of the risks of knife crime and they already take proactive steps and have stringent controls to tackle the issue.

"They are responsible companies. They are traders whom we can trust."

He added: "The bill makes an exception for bladed products used for sporting purposes.

"Under those provisions, a sword could be delivered to a residential property, but one of my local manufacturers' steak knives could not."