I use a knife at work most days.
I am a service technician working all over the southern U.K. It simply isn't possible for me to NOT have a knife of some sort with me (be it in my pocket, or in my toolbox). In fact, I usually will have upwards of 3 knives with me, i.e. on my person & in my vehicle as the different types get used for different purposes. The pocket knife is the most useful, as it's always to hand & does not seem to worry people like Raoul from Lincolnshire much. While the part serrated knife on my multitool often does as people misperceive the serrations as aggressive.
For this reason I carry a pocket knife even when I am also carrying a multitool.
So Raoul, your theory that no-one needs to have a knife 'in thier possesion' at any time outside of thier kitchen is totally flawed.
I am a law abiding citizen, and never been in trouble with the police. But nowadays I feel like I am seen as a criminal although I've done nothing wrong.
So tell me, how is THAT right?

Matt, London,

Some of these comments are just laughable. There is no reason on earth why anyone, anywhere, on any street, or in any community should be carrying a knife........ full stop! It implies a threat, either in an attack or defence, by always taking the danger level a step higher. Nanny State?? Common sense gentlemen , get a grip. Let's make our streets safer and get these knives of our streets. If you carry a knife, and the police find you carrying one you should be charged..... about time!

Raoul, Lincolnshire,

Yet again we are becoming ever more the nanny state, telling our inhabitants what to and what not to do, l myself carry a victorinox penknife regularly whilst out and about and find no reason why l shouldent. Normally said penknife is used several times a day from opening packaging (blister packing is lethal to your hands otherwise!) to cutting food, l would never acctually think of using my penknife as a weapon (which l proved the other week when my mate got jumped) as always its a matter of a few abusers ruining it for the law abiding majority.

wabert, glasgow,

Are the police going to prosecute greencrocers, chefs and odd job men as well as gang members?
Surely it is the appropriateness of the carrying which is at issue -not the knife per se.

Peter Fallows, London

Peter Fallows, London,

I do not advocate using a knife in self defence, full stop.

I do however take issue with the mindset of a Government that feels it must ban everything.

There are already existing laws governing the carry of certain types of knives. Why can't we just enforce the laws we already have?

The government must have money to burn and once again law abiding citizens will be forced to pay the price.

S.F

Yorkshire

Shaun, Furlong, South Yorkshire

The pro firearms post below is quite frankly the most ridiculous and flawed argument I have heard in a long time. Gun crime is a huge issue in the USA, school shootings are probably the most obvious example of why easy access to firearms is not as glorious as you describe it to be.

I agree that it is important for common sense to be used by the police, for instance in the example given below regarding the American Eagle Scout, of course he should not be prosecuted. However we have to accept that knife crimes are a growing problem in many areas and too many young people feel they can get away with possessing knifes with intent to use them, can we really argue that it is a bad thing for our Prime Minister to send out a message to violent crime and the use of knifes will not be tolerated?

None, Guildford, England

Another knee-jerk reaction from a failed government. I carry a small folding penknife in my wallet to use for cutting string, etc and have done so for 30 years or more. The blade is less than 2 inches long. Does this qualify as a a "blade"? What is the legal specification of a blade? I seem to remember that an illegal knife was five or more inches long, and under that it was OK to carry, usually as a folding pen knife. What about mechanics etc who have one as part of their tool kits?

If the existing laws were rigorously enforced by a police-force that was not mainly desk-bound writing reports so that Labour can fudge the figures to show their systems work (?), crime would be accordingly reduced. But beware because vigilantes may appear soon if ordinary folks are scared to go out.

B J Deller, Marbella, Spain

Prosecuted under what legislation?

Under Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 I am entitled to carry a folding pocket knife with a blade of less than 3" (7.62cm) without having to show any reason for doing so.

Bri, London, UK

Once again we have Brown playing Police Chief, Crown Prosecutor, Lord Chief Justice and Secretary of State for anything-you-can-think-of-but-you-thought-someone-else-was-already-being-paid-to-be.

Yet more political halitosis and grandstanding, which will have no practical outcome beyond another raft of regulations and a few more paperpushers pretending to "enforce" them.

Gordon Alexander, Frome, UK

Knife crime is so bad in Scotland that it doesn't even make the news and our government are focussed on banning air rifles... muppets.

Graeme, Edinburgh,

Slightly silly to ban all knives - a blanket ban will stopp people from legally buying kitchen knives and carrying them home! Or people like myself who carry a swiss army knife - not to threaten or harm anyone, but because the attachements aer useful! Instead of a bn on carrying, why not look at the causes of the problem - why is criminal behaviour on the rise? What are the underlying causes that are making these people so miserable or confused that they feel the need to (or do not understand the problem with) stabbing and attacking people? But as always, the British govenment deals with symptoms, not diseases, because it is easier.

Marianne, London, London

What on earth have hunting knives got to do with it ? Your average thug on the street with a knife will have his mums kitchen knife in his pocket. Should we ban them too ?
The way to deal with it is to enforce the existing laws, something no politician has ever suceeded in doing because it costs real money, and doesn't get instant media coverage.
Remeber criminals don't obey laws. Bringing out new ones makes no difference to them, it only affects the majority law abiding !

M Hill, Wigan, UK

And the penalties?

John Punshon, Milton Keynes, UK

How will this Zero-tolerance thing actually help anything, with cheap "kitchen knives" being sold in £1 shops across the country, these are basically disposable weapons.

UK knife law is already extremely Strict this is the government going in ham fisted again, lets ban everything with out thinking... how can HUNTING knife be defined, what about skinners, bowies, etc all have legitimate uses?

skip, London,

Brown is totally wrong here. We should have the right to defend ourselves, the right to bear arms (guns and knives), like in the USA. Currently, the criminals have weapons. This new legislation won't change this.

But the average law-abiding citizen can't do a thing to defend themselves.

On New Year's Eve, in the North of England, a guy was beaten to death after going out to look for his dog.

Yet in Florida, not long before, a guy was surrounded by four men, one of whom put a gun to his head. They asked him for money. Instead, he pulled out a gun (which he had a permit for) and fired on them, driving them off.

He came out without a scratch. Yet the defenceless guy in the UK is dead.

We need to be able to defend ourselves in Britain. I'm a true crime author and research crime on a daily basis. Because of this, I'm totally in favour of having the right to bear arms. We need more guns and knives; not less.

And, remember, it's alright for Gordon Brown; he's got bodyguards.

Jimmy Lee Shreeve, Norwich, UK

This law already exists, why doesn't Gordon Bean provide the police to enforce it?

Neil, Cheltenham, England

This is insane - as a serving officer so please excuse lack of full name - we recently attended an incident where security at tourist attraction had found a knife in a bag - the "knife carrier" was a American eagle scout, in the company of with his parents and grandparents, the knife in question being the folding blade on his eagle scout penknife. In future we will have to cuff Elmer (not his real name) in front of his parents and grandparents, and jail him for a substantial time?

Robbing police and courts of intelligent discretion for the sake of a headline is utterly destructive. We currently don't let bad hats 'get away with it', we have full powers to prosecute whenever we like. What we also have is the discretion not to in obviously inoffensive or accidental cases. Losing this is a disaster.

NB Anyone with a knife in their picnic basket is also going down - understood? Possession of salami and a crusty loaf will be no excuse...

"A Relief", Liverpool, UK