Well it appears that despite petitions and protestations from the martial arts community the government in it's infinite wisdom has decided to
amend the criminal justice act to effectively ban swords, I feel safer already!!
The amendments come in to force on April 6th.
If I have understood correctly if you belong to a martial arts association you are probably okay to have a sword but it's worth checking that,
below is a snippet from a press release about the consultation carried out before the act was written:
The consultation proposes exemptions for groups such as the To-ken
Society of Great Britain and the British Kendo Association. These
exemptions would cover genuine collectors’ swords made in Japan before
the existing licensing regime came into force in 1953 or those made by
licensed Japanese swordsmiths since that time. It also suggests that
specific weapons used in martial arts or samurai swords used in sport
should be exempt. It is the sale, import and hire of all cheaper
imitation samurai swords – the type of weapon that is used in violent
crime and which is not made in Japan under licensing arrangements –
which would be banned.
I'll post any more info I get and if anybody else knows anything please post a comment.
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