New ninja sword legislation bans them under Ronan’s Law – in memory of Ronan Kanda

Since 1st August 2025 the sale, possession, manufacture, and transportation of ninja swords were officially banned across England and Wales. 

This is an important milestone in the fight against knife crime – closing a dangerous loophole that has allowed the sale of ninja swords in the UK. 

Ninja swords are large, intimidating weapons with single-edged blades – usually between 14 and 24 inches long – often ending in a sharp angular or tanto-style point. These weapons have been linked to violent attacks and are often found in the hands of people involved in serious crime. Anyone found carrying or selling a ninja sword could now face up to two years in prison. 

This legislation was introduced following the tragic 2022 murder of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda who was murdered with a ninja sword in Wolverhampton. The banning of ninja swords is a result of the tireless and successful campaigning by the Kanda family. 
 
"Ronan’s Law" will also see the government bring in the toughest measures to date to tackle the sale of weapons online – requiring retailers to report bulk or suspicious knife orders to the police; put in place more stringent age-verification checks and impose significant fines on tech executives whose platforms fail to prevent illegal sales.  
 
Strategic lead for Serious Violence in Force, Chief Superintendent Liam Davies said: “I welcome any moves from the government which will help us in our work tackling knife crime. 

“We welcome any initiative that provides opportunities for us to enforce against weapons used to cause high harm and are a risk to public safety.  

“Particularly in cases where our officers are working to tackle drug-related offending, bladed weapons can often be found within private addresses. 

“When it comes to items like ninja swords, like zombie knives, where it is clear there is no conceivable reason to have these items beyond criminal intent, it is right that these items are seized. 

“Tackling knife crime takes a whole system approach beyond just police enforcement, but every dangerous weapon taken out of circulation is potentially a life saved.”  

The Ben Kinsella Trust welcomes this decisive move, which delivers on a long-standing government commitment to take dangerous weapons off our streets.  

Patrick Green, CEO said: “The Ben Kinsella Trust welcomes the government’s decision to ban ninja swords and implement Ronan’s Law. These weapons, have no practical purpose beyond violence. They are military grade weapons which have absolutely no place in our society or on our streets. This new law not only gives the police powers to take these weapons and those who carry them off our streets, it also gives them the power to hold those who sell these weapons to account, this is critical in breaking the supply chain that fuels this violence.” 

As part of our ongoing work to reduce knife crime across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, we have a range of resources on our website: Tackling Knife Crime | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and our website aimed at Parent/Carers – Safe4Me.  

If you know someone who’s carrying a knife or involved in knife crime, please get in touch by calling 101. Locations to surrender a sword or knife can be found here.