Keir Starmer has promised to “get a grip” on soaring knife crime as he announced that a Labour government would bring in a bespoke plan for every offender, including tags and curfews. The Labour leader said there would be an urgent crackdown on the availability of machetes and zombie-style knives, along with interventions to help prevent young people getting involved with knife crime and tough sanctions for those who do. Young people caught with a knife would have a bespoke action plan to prevent reoffending, which could include sanctions such as curfews, tagging, or behavioural contracts, along with interventions involving parents and schools. Ministers announced that they would finally ban large serrated knives and machetes under new legislation to be laid before parliament on Thursday, after zombie knives themselves were outlawed in 2016. These were defined in the legislation as those with a cutting edge, a serrated edge and “images or words that suggest it is to be used for the purpose of violence”. Ministers will also increase the maximum sentence for the possession of banned weapons from six months to two years, while anyone caught selling knives to under-18s, including online, will also face two years behind bars. Police will for the first time get powers to seize and destroy knives found during a search on a property if there are reasonable grounds to suspect the blade will be used in a serious crime. The new measures are expected to come into force in September. Labour has pledged to halve the number of knife offences by the end of a first term. Official statistics show that despite total knife crime soaring by 70% since 2015, almost half of all knife possession cases recorded by police last year led to no further action. Starmer defended the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, from criticism over knife crime rates in the capital, saying that only the government had the power to ban dangerous weapons, properly fund councils to tackle youth crime and bring in tough sanctions. “I don’t think it’s fair, proportionate or actually a reasonable response to the failure of the last however many years to simply say: ‘Let’s put it at the door of the mayor,’” he told reporters. “This constant pointing at others … This needs someone to grip it and say: ‘We’re not going to put up with this any more.’” The Labour leader said he had been struck by an interview on Wednesday with the father of Ben Kinsella, who was stabbed to death in 2008, in which he commented on how little had changed since his son’s murder. “That’s the consequence of simply pointing the finger at somebody else. I’m not prepared to let that happen,” Starmer added. Labour would take a three-pronged approach to knife crime, tackling availability of the weapons, intervening to prevent young people carrying them, and introducing serious consequences for those who do. Just hours before the government announced a crackdown on zombie-style knives and machetes on England’s streets, Starmer said Labour would implement one. It would also toughen existing rules on serration and centimetre length. He pledged to introduce tough criminal sanctions on tech executives who allowed knife sales on their online marketplaces, such as Amazon Marketplace, eBay and Instagram. There would also be a review of online knife sales from the point of purchase through to delivery, in particular to strengthen identity checks, and checks conducted by Royal Mail and Border Force for UK-bound parcels. Every offender would be referred to a youth offending team and have a bespoke plan to prevent reoffending, with possible penalties including curfews, tagging or behavioural contracts. Currently, in some cases, they just have to write a letter of apology. Starmer said serious cases would warrant imprisonment. The party would bring in a Sure Start-style programme for teenagers, called Young Futures, which would require coordination of local services to identify those most at risk of falling into knife crime. The £100m-a-year scheme would fund new youth workers and mental health hubs in every community, youth workers in A&E and mentors in pupil referral units and custody centres. Starmer said that he was “shocked” that some young people felt scared to go to their local high street even in daylight. “I am very worried about young people, and they ought to be able to walk the streets feeling safe,” he said. “I know it sounds obvious, but it is basic. It’s really important. And after 14 years of this government, we do not have that level of confidence in our young people feeling safe that we ought to.”