The Co-operative group has stopped selling individual knives in an attempt to contribute to stemming the rise in knife crime in the capital and elsewhere in the UK. Calling it the ‘Safer Colleague/Safer Community’ campaign to promote safety of their staff and a safer wider community.

Asda made a similar pledge in March. Single kitchen knives are the type most commonly stolen from Co-op stores. In the year to March 2018 there were 285 deaths in England & Wales due to stabbing with a sharp instrument.