UK Police sieze 129 antique Edged Weapons

In the week prior to November 21, 2025, Leamington police, part of the Warwickshire police, confiscated a collection of 129 antique bladed weapons from a single household in Whitnash, England. The police posted a photograph of the antiques which were confiscated. It was a sort of trophy photograph. The price of an average house in Whitnash is reported to be £364,457 or $488,372. From  msn.com:

A spokesman for Leamington Police said: "Now we can't claim to have seized all the knives pictured through proactive patrols during this #OpSceptre week however after concerns were raised to us earlier this week we have seized 129 bladed articles from a property in Whitnash which clearly in the wrong hands could have caused serious harm.

Later in the article, the police added this:

The police spokesman added: "This means that in most cases it is an offense to possess any of the above articles anywhere. If found guilty of possessing a weapon like this you can face up to 4 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both."

There is a problem with the police actions and the statement above. None of the items pictured are illegal to possess, even with the recent changes in English weapons law. An excellent synopsis of the problem has been posted on Youtube. From Youtube video by antique dealer and expert in edged weapons, Matt Easton:

The UK police seem to have wrongly seized a collection of antique weapons. So Leamington police, part of Warwikshire police earlier this week, proudly boasted on their socials that they had seized 129 edged weapons from a property in Witnash. The problem is that all of the items pictured are completely legal to own.

Posts on facebook in reply to The Leamington Police post are universally critical. Not one comment defending the police was observed at the time this article was written. Here is a typical comment:

Ollie Evans

Respectfully, these are all clearly historic and/or antiques, all of which are exempt under the Offensive Weapons Act 2019. If the owner was not fit to be in possession of them then I can understand but I beg of you not to destroy these items, they’re of historic significance, they could be auctioned off to support the constabulary or donated to a museum or suitable collector.

 

The number of antique swords or other bladed military weapons used in crime in the UK is so close to zero, this correspondent has been unable to locate an example.

Analysis: When legislatures assume a problem is caused by an inanimate object, rather than by voluntary actions of individuals, they pass laws based on a false notion of causality. Weapons do not cause crime. People use weapons as tools to facilitate both defense and crime. When the focus is on the weapon in stead of individual actions, crime is not reduced.  Alternative weapons are easily found or constructed. Weapons are easily constructed out of everyday items. The most commonly used knives in British crime are kitchen knives. A camera on a strap becomes a slung-shot. Sharpen the point on an umbrella, and it becomes a deadly weapon.  The inanimate object is not the problem. The problem is the mind behind the object.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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