Labour’s zombie knife return policy, which offered compensation for knives, was ‘hugely flawed’ and could cost up to £1.1 million

A Labour-backed zombie knife return policy, which offered owners and retailers compensation for the terrifying blades, had ‘massive shortcomings’, the documents show.

Individuals and businesses were offered a minimum of £10 per knife when handing in three or more blades during a month-long return and compensation scheme ahead of the ban on zombie knives and machetes on September 24.

The Home Office had predicted the compensation payouts would cost them £14,000, but police data shows a higher number of knives have been handed in than expected, meaning the scheme could end up costing the taxpayer £1.1 million costs.

A BBC investigation also found that some owners may have benefited from handing in their guns, with the money offered exceeding the cost of the knife.

A Home Office spokesperson told MailOnline that the scheme’s compensation claims have been ‘rigorously assessed’.

This discovery comes a month after it was revealed that the now illegal zombie knives can still be bought online for less than £20.

The ban on zombie knives and machetes was introduced in England and Wales to reduce serious violence and crime – making it a criminal offense to possess, sell, manufacture or transport them.

The weapons, with chilling names like First Blood, Fantasy Hunting Knife and Predator, can grow to more than 18 inches long – and have become the weapon of choice for gangland killings and stabbings.

As part of the ban, the definition of zombie knives was expanded to include knives that were 8 inches long or had other specific features.

Prior to the ban, the Home Office ran an amnesty and compensation scheme and predicted that owners would hand in 472 blades, resulting in compensation of around £14,000.

Officials have not yet released the actual total, but partial data from several police forces in England and Wales shows that at least 39,000 knives have been handed in – 86 times more than predicted and amounting to compensation of more than £1 million.

The Ministry of the Interior does not yet want to comment on these figures.

According to the BBC’s findings, one retailer in the West Midlands handed in more than 100 knives, while Avon and Somerset externally handed in more than 1,000 knives.

Knife wholesaler Sporting Wholesale Limited, whose products have been used in several murders, has handed in more than 35,000 zombie swords, netting them £350,000 in taxpayers’ money.

Sporting Wholesale is run by Eddy Eliaz, an enthusiastic fisherman who also sells fishing tackle. His younger brother, former Young Apprentice candidate Adam Eliaz, is director of DNA Leisure, which is based on the same industrial estate and also handed in 1,542 knives.

The latest research also suggests that banned type knives can be bought much cheaper than the £10 offered as part of the scheme.

When the BBC asked for a cost and shipping estimate for 30,000 knives, a Guangdong-based supplier offered $5.58 per knife if 1,000 were ordered.

It would therefore end up in Britain for around £6.15 – after adding shipping costs, 8% import duty and 20% VAT.

Sporting Wholesale did not comment on whether they used the same supplier but would incur costs other than the price of the blades, such as storage and staffing.

A Chinese supplier also offered to sell to the BBC a knife model used to kill a man in Luton in 2023 for £10.85 each, when you buy 1,000.

The Home Office told MailOnline that the scheme’s compensation claims had been “rigorously assessed”, but insisted the scheme had taken dangerous weapons “off our streets”.

Labor MP Sarah Owen echoed these comments, but admitted the Home Office’s impact assessment was ‘clearly flawed’.

She added: ‘I think former ministers who set up this scheme really need to answer questions about how they decided the compensation would be allocated and to whom.

“But I think we need to look at why it was designed that way, because it was clearly not designed for the amount of knives that were actually turned in.”

The compensation plan was criticized by Richard Fuller, Conservative MP for North Bedfordshire, who suggested the government should have considered limiting compensation payments.

While he agreed with the aim of obtaining street knives, Mr Fuller believed it could have been done without incurring ‘open costs to the taxpayer’.

He said: ‘Whether or not this particular store should get its full compensation – I don’t think it’s clear yet that that should be paid and my advice to the government would be to go back and check its homework and see what his rights are. according to the legislation it has been passed.’

The Home Office said the original estimates were based on a previous buyout and compensation scheme in 2019, adding that zombie knife sellers had not provided sales or stock data during a spring 2023 consultation.

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘All claims for compensation made under the ‘zombie style’ knife and machete surrender scheme have been rigorously monitored, with all suspected fraudulent claims referred to police for investigation referred.

“Dangerous weapons with no other purpose than to cause harm have been taken off our streets, in support of our mission to halve knife crime and serious violence within ten years.”