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The policing minister has insisted efforts to ban more machetes and zombie knives in England and Wales and impose tougher jail sentences will “go even further” than previous attempted crackdowns.

Chris Philp defended the Government plans to MPs in the face of accusations that they were “too little, too late”.

Criminals who buy or sell machetes and zombie knives could face up to two years in jail under the latest proposals.

Police would also be given more powers to seize and destroy the weapons while criminals would face tougher sentences for their sale and possession, if the plans come into force.

It follows a string of similar announcements by a succession of home secretaries in recent years.

Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Philp said: “Knife crime causes misery and fear in our communities which is why, over many years, this Government has taken concerted action to tackle it.”

Branding knife crime a “menace”, he said every weapon taken off the streets has the “potential to save lives”, adding: “We have today launched a seven-week consultation on new proposals to go even further to tackle the use of certain machetes and other bladed articles in crime.”

Mr Philp described the intended ban as “going further than the weapons ban already introduced in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019.”

Shadow Home Office minister Sarah Jones told MPs Labour supports measures to ban the weapons, but added: “This is too little, too late. A smokescreen to distract from their appalling record.

“Knife crime has risen by 70% since 2015 across the country, and the whole country is affected.”

She accused the Government of failing to “have a plan” to tackle knife crime, adding: “The Offensive Weapons Bill was hailed by the former prime minister as the big answer to what is a national crisis, but it hasn’t worked.

“A year and a half ago I called on the Government to act on getting these knives off the streets entirely, but they have done nothing. Why the delay?”

Ms Jones argued the proposed ban “does not go far enough”, adding: “After his changes in this consultation could I still buy a 49-centimetre sword online? Only swords over 50 centimetres are banned.”

Dame Diana Johnson, Labour chairwoman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said four previous home secretaries made similar announcements and asked Mr Philp “why he thinks those approaches have not been effective and what’s different about the approach that he’s announced today, and will that be effective?”

Mr Philp replied: “I don’t accept that the previous initiatives have been unsuccessful … What the Government’s done is successively tightened the law, as we’re doing further today.”