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Knives: Import Controls

Asked by Matt VickersConservativeHome OfficeTabled Answered 3 September 2025UIN 69385

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to strengthen border and import-level screening to prevent the delivery of knives purchased from overseas retailers without age verification.

Answered by Dame Diana Johnson

Border Force utilise a suite of data analysis and detection capabilities to screen for illicit goods crossing the UK border.

We are currently upgrading our x-ray detection capabilities and introducing a new scanning system that improves how our officers analyse images at the border to better detect threats such as offensive weapons.

Border Force also utilise advance data and intelligence to risk assess movements crossing the UK Border, this includes targeting the illegal importation of offensive weapons to prevent their delivery to a UK recipient.

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