Morrisons has become the first UK supermarket to stop selling traditional pointed kitchen knives, replacing them with blunt-ended alternatives that cannot pierce skin. The move comes amid rising knife crime, with police data showing 49,151 knife or sharp instrument offences last year — a 50 per cent increase over the past decade.
The retailer's decision follows a violent incident at its Bradford store on December 5, when 22-year-old Milad Panjshiri brandished a six-inch blade and went on a rampage, hurling wine bottles and forcing shoppers and staff to evacuate. Panjshiri was sentenced to 18 months in prison last month.
Morrisons Corporate Affairs Director David Scott said the blunt-ended knives are "just as effective in the kitchen but reduce the risk of harm." He added that the company hopes the move will "help normalise safer knives and make our communities safer."
The change is supported by knife attack survivor Leanne Lucas, who launched the Let’s Be Blunt campaign after a July 2024 attack in which a 17-year-old killed three girls and injured ten others with an 8-inch kitchen knife. Lucas urged MPs to back her campaign, saying such events "must never be repeated."
Patrick Green, Chief Executive of The Ben Kinsella Trust, a charity working to reduce knife crime, said the introduction of blunted knives "removes the opportunity, the impulsivity."
Morrisons' decision comes as the chain prepares to close 100 loss-making stores across the UK, described as "the most challenged" in its retail estate.
