THREATENING to use a knife regardless of where the crime takes place should result in prosecution, an MP has argued.

MP Philip Davies, whose constituency includes Cullingworth and Denholme, said current laws are not acceptable, adding that he would look to amend the Offensive Weapons Bill.

He said: “I cannot for the life of me see why someone who threatens somebody with a knife should not be prosecuted for this offence, regardless of where the offence takes place.

"Currently it has to be in a public place or on school premises, and the bill will extend that to further education premises. But why should it not apply to all premises?"

Mr Davies told MPs that 60 per cent of people charged with possession of a knife escaped prison and 38 per cent of people who threatened someone with a knife were also let off.

He added: “In 2016, somebody with 14 previous knife offences was still not sent to prison for committing a further knife offence.”

Speaking in Parliament he urged the Government to include serious offences with knives and offensive weapons within the unduly lenient sentence scheme, which allows for a sentence handed down by the courts to be challenged if it is felt too lenient.

He said: “There's clearly a problem with violent crime, knife crime and the horrific acid attacks we've all heard about. There are many things I'd like to see us do to curb those terrible crimes.

"The shadow minister knows I totally agree with her about police numbers. That would be a good place to start.

"We could also stop releasing prisoners automatically halfway through their sentences, and then giving them scandalous 28-day fixed-term recalls when they reoffend.

"We could stop faffing around and interfering with the police on stop and search and let the police get on with their job.

"We could also ensure much tougher sentences are handed down by our courts to persistent and serious offenders.”